Artist Database

Prolific and popular South African artist Pieter van der Westhuizen was born in Pretoria in 1931. After finishing school, he studied art at The University of South Africa (UNISA) where he was taught by Zakkie Eloff and Robert Hodgins. In 1960, he worked under Alfred Krenz and in 1971, under Erik Laubscher. In the 1980s, van der Westhuizen continued his studies in Belgium at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Stedelijke Akademie in Ghent, and the Ryks Centrum voor Grafiek in Kasterlee. During this decade he also spent a few years studying woodblock printing in Japan and was invited to participate in an exhibition alongside works by Marc Chagall, Ben Avram, and Yaacov Agam in Madrid, Spain. Working in various mediums including pastels, painting, and etchings, van der Westhuizen's oeuvre encompasses landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and figures. They are a celebration of the beauty found within the everyday.

Image source: SA Art Times, February 2009, page 15. Photographer: Thabo Stegman.