Loet Vanderveen

When California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gives an official gift to a dignitary or head of state, he gives a Vanderveen bronze bear. Sculptor Loet Vanderveen brings an incredible sympathy to every animal he creates. His sculptures capture an animal’s signature pose, revealing the essence not only of its form, but also its way of moving. The artist researches his subjects exhaustively and has been on many African safaris to gather first-hand impressions.

As a young boy in Rotterdam, Holland, Loet went nearly every day to the city’s Victorian-era zoo. On May 14th, 1940, the Germans bombed Rotterdam, virtually flattening the city. Loet’s life would never be the same. The young boy was completely alone. His mother had died in a car accident when he was eight, and shortly after the bombing his father died of a staph infection when no medicine was available to treat him. With his half-Jewish heritage, it became imperative for Loet to get out of occupied Holland. He escaped over the Belgian border. Post-war times were chaotic, but the young man had friends in the fashion industry who found him work doing sketches for designers until his American visa cleared and he packed for New York City. For three years he studied with a master ceramicist. But the cutthroat business environment of the city wasn’t to his liking, and he set out for California, settling on the rugged Big Sur coastline.

Loet built a large ceramic studio with kiln and spent the next years creating ceramic sculptures of animals. In 1985 a lightning-sparked fire burned his house and studio to the ground. Using the original plans, the house was rebuilt with improvements, but with a much smaller studio for sculpting the wax originals that his new bronze animals were being cast from.

This new medium brought Loet into the international spotlight. The combination of patina and polished bronze finishes added the finishing touch to his elegant sculptures. Works by Loet Vanderveen are now in the permanent exhibits of museums worldwide. Political figures, champions of sport, movie stars, wildlife organizations and heads of state; these diverse art collectors are united by an appreciation for the art of the Dutch boy who loved animals and grew up to be one of the most famous sculptors of our time.