Margriet Windhausen (born 24 June 1942) is a New Zealand

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Life

Margriet Windhausen was born in

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to painter Fons Windhausen and is the fourth generation of the Windhausen family to be an artist. She studied sculpture from 1962 to 1965 at the City Academy of Fine Arts in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. From 1965 to 1972 she was a teacher at

Posterholt Posterholt is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Roerdalen. History The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Posterholt. The etymology is unclear. Posterholt is a linear forest cultivation village ...

. She emigrated to New Zealand in 1976, where she made a name as a sculptor. For 25 years from 1990, she and her husband Paul van den Bergh lived in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

in two churches that they moved to the site and converted into a home and studio. In 2014 they moved to the

Kapiti Coast The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island offshore. The pop ...

. Windhausen and her husband have a number of children and grandchildren.

Works

In the early 1980s she made a number of bronze portraits. She then received a number of commissions for monumental works, such as a bronze statue of the New Zealand boxer

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan) ...

, which was commissioned by New Zealand property magnate and boxing fan Sir Robert Jones, and which is located in a public square in

. Windhausen also made a two-metre high work of the sailing ships of

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...

. This work was commissioned by the Netherlands-New Zealand Federation, and unveiled in Wellington on 17 March 1992 by

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband ...

. For the centenary of women's suffrage in New Zealand, she made the

Kate Sheppard National Memorial The ''Kate Sheppard National Memorial'', located in the city of Christchurch, is New Zealand's first memorial to the women's suffrage campaign, and particularly honours the life of one of the country's leading campaigners for women's suffrage, K ...

, a bronze relief measuring five by over two metres. This work was unveiled on 19 September 1993. Windhausen's work also includes a statue of Captain John Hamilton which was installed in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

's Civic Square. In 2018, the statue was vandalised by activist Taitimu Maipi. Maipi used a hammer and red paint to damage the statue, and said that it did not make sense to celebrate a man who murdered the ancestors of local Māori. Windhausen said that "history is controversial and that's why I want to say I respect aitimu Maipi'sfeelings for Captain Hamilton". Windhausen said her sculpture, to her, only went as far as illustrating where the name of the city came from. Further protests against the statue followed in 2020, including a march. The statue was removed from the square in June 2020 by Hamilton City Council. Windhausen created the bronze Land Girl Monument, which was installed and unveiled at Maungati in South Canterbury in October 2022, to commemorate the contributions of women who worked on farms in New Zealand during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Other works by Windhausen include a sculpture of athlete

Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushingto ...

for

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At th ...

and ''The Face of Peace'', installed at

Caroline Bay Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

. File:Head of a Woman, polychromed terracotta, 2012.jpg File:De Nieuwe Koerier vol 055 no 146 Birth announcement Margriet Windhausen.jpg, alt=Windhausen's birth announcement from 1942, Windhausen's birth announcement File:Head of a Woman 2017. Polychromed terracotta, glass beads. 40x30x20cm.jpg File:Kate Sheppard Memorial. FZ200 (14409824662).jpg, alt=Close up on the Kate Sheppard National Memorial, a bronze bas-relief sculpture, Close up of the Kate Sheppard National Memorial File:Jack Lovelock, bronze, 2002, Timaru NZ crop.jpg, alt=, Jack Lovelock sculpture, Timaru Boys High School, Timaru, New Zealand, 2002 File:Jack Lovelock. bronze, 2004,.jpg, alt=, center, Jack Lovelock File:Land Girl Monument Maungati (cropped).jpg, Land Girl Monument

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windhausen, Margriet People from Roermond People from Timaru 20th-century New Zealand women artists New Zealand women sculptors 1942 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand women artists 21st-century New Zealand sculptors Dutch emigrants to New Zealand