Sculpture: washerwoman, 1964
Material: Bronze
Dimensions height: 2.20 m (incl. base)
Location: Leeuwerikenstraat Park
Sculptor: Wilfried Put
Opening with a train
In 1964, 5 statues were unveiled in record time, one of which was “the washerwoman”. Mayor Van Fenema and 40 other guests were transported to these special unveilings in the well-known party and tourist train with advertising boards for a well-known soft drink along the sides. Police officers on a scooter rode in front to regulate traffic. Unfortunately, there was little public interest in the unveilings. (s)cul(p)ture has not yet conquered Zandvoort! After the unveilings, the group went to the Community Center where there was a double exhibition about “the beach of the past and present” and “sculptors for Zandvoort”. The statue by artist Wilfried Put stands at the beginning of the park in the Vinkenstraat and meets the requirements of the municipal authorities. The sculptures must be figurative and give an elegant accent to the often sober businesslike nature of the residential areas.
Artist Wilfried Put
The washerwoman is a graceful statue, she stands small but bravely hanging up the laundry. The style of this statue is at first glance somewhat reminiscent of Nel Kaassen but if you look closely the work of Wilfried Put is less strictly depicted. The name of the artist is neatly mentioned on the pedestal this time. This is really unique because this information is usually missing on the other sculptures. This time too there is not much to tell about the sculptor Wilfried Put. Only that his wife Christina Put-Nijland was also a sculptor but more about that later. Furthermore Put lived in Amsterdam and that is all the information that was given by the municipality at the time. The municipality paid fl. 6000,= for his sculpture ‘the washerwoman’. Another source does state that Put also made medals but whether that is the same person cannot be determined.