Gerrit van Gelderen (1926-1994) was a Dutch-born naturalist, wildlife broadcaster, film-maker, illustrator and cartoonist, who lived and worked in Ireland for a large part of his life. He is famous for his television work on Amuigh Faoin Spéir with Éamon de Buitléar. and his series "To the Waters and the Wild" that ran from 1974 - 1994. Van Gelderen was born 26 August 1926 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and was educated at the

Royal Academy of Art, The Hague The Royal Academy of Art (KABK, nl, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten) is an art and design academy in The Hague. Succeeding the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (part of the Confrerie Pictura), the academy was founded on 29 September 1682, m ...

. He moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, in 1955 to work in advertising. Some of his illustrations featured in the '' Farmers Journal''. In the 1960s he started working with de Buitléar producing programmes for television. Van Gelderen was a close friend of fellow Dutch graphic designer and artist Jan de Fouw who also moved to Ireland. Their families lived together in

Islandbridge Island Bridge (), formerly Sarah or Sarah's Bridge, is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland which joins the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park. Island Bridge and the surrounding area (often known ...

, before moving to adjoining houses in

Glencullen Glencullen () is a village and townland in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is also the name of the valley above one end of which the village sits, and from which it takes its name, and is on the R ...

, in the Dublin mountains Van Gelderen and De Fouw were among a group of Dutch artists who moved to Ireland in the 1950s, including Guus Melai, Bert van Embden, Willem van Velzen, Piet Sluis and Cor Klaasen (Text books covers). Gerrit died 28 February 1994 at his home in

Sandyford Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and ...

following a lung operation. He was survived by his wife Lies van Gelderen and four children Merlin, Aoife, Finn and Oisín.

Work

* ''The Burren'' (1984) Director, Writer and CinematographerGerrit Van Gelderen
IMDB. * '' Amuigh Faoin Spéir (Out Under the Sky) '' with Éamon de Buitléar, drawings by Gerrit van Gelderen * ''An tOchtapas agus rainn eile'' (Baile Atha Cliath: Clódhanna Teo 1977), illustrations by Gerrit van Gelderen. * ''To the Waters and the Wild'', Gerrit van Gelderen (1974) *''To the Waters and the Wild/Adventures of a Wildlife Film Maker'' by Gerrit van Gelderen, (1986). *''Doings'' by Gerrit van Gelderen, (1975)

References

*Patrick Long, "van Gelderen, Gerrit", 'Dictionary of Irish Biography', (Eds.) James Mcguire, James Quinn, Cambridge University Press, 2009, {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelderen, Gerrit van 1926 births 1994 deaths Dutch cartoonists Dutch illustrators Van Gelderen Van Gelderen Royal Academy of Art, The Hague alumni Artists from Rotterdam Dutch emigrants to Ireland