Willem Sandberg – Portrait of an Artist, Valiz, 2013

Author Ank Leeuw Marcar
Designer Rutger de Vries

‘Available for the first time in English, Portrait of an Artist brings the work and philosophy of Willem Sandberg (1897-1962), the legendary director of Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum, to a broad readership. In the wake of World War II, Sandberg transformed the Stedelijk into a dynamic center for modern art and culture. Collaborating closely with artists and architects, Sandberg had strong views about heading up a museum for modern and contemporary art, about the importance of art, dealing with artists and his work as typographic designer. Based on interviews with Sandberg, Portrait of an Artist offers firsthand insight into museum culture, providing a vivid picture of the period with fascinating stories about artists such as Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder, and architects such as Gerrit Rietveld, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.’