Caroline could no longer write her name: ‘But paintings from the Alzheimer period are her best works’

The proceeds from that auction will go to the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam and Alzheimer Center Erasmus MC Rotterdam.

Artist Caroline van der Vegt died in 2021 from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Her husband decided to have her paintings and drawings auctioned. Nearly 200 of her works can now be seen in the Oostkerk and in Gallery SmithArt in Middelburg and are sold online by the Venduehuis from The Hague.

When his wife died, Dick de Bruijn (78) documented the collection in two catalogs, but the works themselves remained in her studio. “We have no children, there are no heirs, before I can no longer do it myself, something has to be done. This work is worth getting a new home.”

In the invitation for the exhibition, Dick de Bruijn describes his wife’s work as follows: “Creatures appear in almost all of Caroline’s work. They are reminiscent of people but are never depicted naturalistically. You see a torso and a head, feet and hands, although they are also missing. The appearance is distinct in terms of lines, but somewhat deviates from what we usually imagine when we think of people. The animals in her work also usually have a unique shape, as if they are just coming to life on the paper on which Caroline van der Vegt gives them space.”