Jan Willem “Willy” Sluiter (24 May 1873, Amersfoort-22 May 1949, The Hague) was a Dutch painter. He was best known for his paintings of Dutch villages and its dwellers, and moreover did portraits of members of Dutch high society. His achievement was part of the art competitions at four Olympic Games.
Sluiter was a devotee of a relations of ministers. Sluiter grew occurring in Heerenveen (until 1883) and Zwijndrecht (from 1883) as the son of notary mr. Jan Willem Sluiter (1839-1902) and Johanna Hillegonda Cornelia Suermondt (1846-1931). In 1901 he married Agatha Anna Louise van Nievervaart (1874-1957) and had a daughter once her, Johanna Adriana (1902-1991).
Sluiter became a versatile artist. He lived and worked in exceeding one place, in Dordrecht and Rotterdam, but moreover in villages that were popular when painters such as Scheveningen, Katwijk and Laren. Sluiter was a supporter of many art societies, including Pictura in Dordrecht, Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam and Pulchri Studio in The Hague.
He was a student at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts from 1891 to 1894 followed by taking lessons at the Hague Academy of Visual Arts. He became a well-known painter, illustrator of political cartoons, made many posters, worked as a freelancer for advertising jobs and also intended book covers. Well-known are the 38 covers for sheet music that he expected for publisher Scheltens and Giltay amongst 1920 and 1925; those were cabaret texts by the poet Clinge Doorenbos.
He lived and worked in Zwijndrecht, Dordrecht and Rotterdam until 1894. From 1894 to 1897 he would reside in Scheveningen and from 1901-1910 in Katwijk. In 1910 he decided in Laren and remained there until 1916 as soon as he moved to The Hague.
Sluiter’s put it on was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale Onze Kunst van Heden (Our Art of Today) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The subjects of Sluiter’s comport yourself often came from the coast and the enthusiasm of fishermen, but he was in addition to a sought-after painter of portraits for the upper class. He captured Hille Butter, a model from Volendam several times.
In 1999 the Dordrechts Museum featured an exhibition just about the posters of Willy Sluiter for the occasion of his passing physical 50 years ago. From 1 October 2013 to 11 January 2014, the Katwijks Museum exhibited his works.
Sluiter collaborated with the Royal Dutch Touring Club and created a number of posters for them. The 1926 poster Laat niet als dank… advertising trash collection is considered to be iconic in the Netherlands.
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