Jan Willem (Willy) Walvoort was born on July 17, 1935, in Aalten, as the son of factory worker Johannes Walvoort and Berendina Geertruida Prinsen. He worked professionally as a maintenance man for the Vereniging Volkshuisvesting (later De Woonplaats), but gained local fame as a draftsman and painter. Walvoort captured numerous locations in Aalten, Bredevoort, and the surrounding area. He passed away on January 16, 2018, at the age of 82.
Youth, education, and profession
Walvoort showed an interest in drawing and painting from an early age. Mr. Siebrands of the Public Primary School in Aalten advised Walvoort’s parents to send their son to the Art Academy. However, his parents were not in favor of this. They considered it more important to “learn a good trade to earn a living.”
After primary school, he attended the Technical School, training in carpentry and masonry. Subsequently, he specialized in technical drawing. His career led him to the Volkshuisvesting, where he worked as a maintenance man for many years.
Oeuvre of drawings, paintings, and illustrations
Alongside his work, Walvoort steadily built an oeuvre consisting primarily of pen drawings and paintings featuring recognizable village and cityscapes. In a 1999 interview, he named the Achterhoek painter Piet te Lintum as his greatest inspiration—“the painting ambassador of the Achterhoek”. Modest as he was, Willy stated in an interview that an excessive amount of talent is not required to draw and paint. “If you are willing and able to put a lot of love and time into it, you will go a long way!”
Walvoort gained fame as a book illustrator in 1995. He illustrated the reissue of Henk Krosenbrink’s novel Het Beloofde Land (The Promised Land). In 1997, he provided the cover illustration for Jos Wessels’ book: Nazareth en zijn katholieken (Nazareth and its Catholics). Nout Wellink, then president of the Dutch Central Bank and born in Bredevoort, was presented with the first copy.
Final years and passing
In the final stage of his life, Walvoort spent some time in a nursing home in Varsseveld. He passed away on January 16, 2018; the funeral took place in private. Hundreds of drawings and paintings in private and local collections keep the memory of this artist alive.
Gallery
A selection of work by Willy Walvoort:
