Sculpture: Novice skater, 1967
Material: Bronze
Dimensions height: 1.50 m (incl. base)
Location: Wim Gertenbach College (to see the statue you have to walk towards the school.)
Sculptor: Kees Verkade
A good start
In 1956, a new school was built for secondary education MAVO on the open terrain of Zandvoortelaan. It soon became apparent that the school was too small for the growing number of students and in 1967 a new extension was built. At the opening, architect Stevens presented the municipality with the beautiful bronze statue of the then unknown artist Kees Verkade, who lived in Zandvoort at the time. The statue was unveiled by mayor Nawijn in the presence of the mayor and aldermen, teaching staff and students. In his speech, the mayor paid tribute to the creator of the statue that symbolizes strength, beauty and tension. He then transferred the care of the sculpture to the management of the school. The head of the school, Mr. Sinke, thanked everyone present and concluded with the following words to the students: “Make your life what this statue symbolizes, a good start.” For artist Verkade it was also a symbolic start to his art career. Because many more works of art by Verkade were subsequently purchased by the municipality of Zandvoort.
Kees Verkade
In 1941 Kees Verkade was born in Haarlem as the son of a manufacturer. Verkade was expelled from school at the age of sixteen and actually wanted to become an advertising artist. On the advice of graphic artist Aart van Dobbenburgh, Verkade went to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. During his studies he made advertising drawings for the Zandvoortse Courant (1958) and other magazines. By chance he ended up in the sculpture department. However, modelling the human figure won out over drawing. During his years at the academy he already received commissions to design reliefs, plaques and awards. In 1967 the municipality of Haarlem gave him one of his first monumental commissions. The sculpture ‘shopping’ was placed on the corner of Grote Houtstraat. The further course of Verkade’s career is told with his other Zandvoort sculptures.