Gerrit van Gelderen (1926–1994) was a Dutch-born

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, wildlife broadcaster, film-maker, illustrator, and cartoonist, who lived and worked in Ireland for a large part of his life. He is famous for his television work on ( Irish: "Out Under the Sky") with

Éamon de Buitléar Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: * Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name * Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *" Éa ...

. and his series ''To the Waters and the Wild'' that ran from 1974 until 1994. Van Gelderen was born on August 26, 1926 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and was educated at the

Royal Academy of Art, The Hague The Royal Academy of Art (, KABK) is an art and design academy in The Hague, offering programs at both the Education in the Netherlands, HBO bachelor's and master's levels, as well as PhD programs. Succeeding the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (pa ...

. He moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, in 1955 to work in advertising. Some of his illustrations featured in the '' Farmers' Journal''. In the 1960s he started working with de Buitléar producing programmes for television. Van Gelderen was a close friend of fellow Dutch graphic designer and artist Jan de Fouw, who had also moved to Ireland. Their families lived together in

Islandbridge Island Bridge (), formerly Sarah or Sarah's Bridge, is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland which joins the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park. Island Bridge and the surrounding area (often known ...

, before moving to adjoining houses in

Glencullen Glencullen () is a village and townland in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is also the name of the valley above one end of which the village sits, and from which it takes its name, and is on the R1 ...

, in the Dublin mountains Van Gelderen and de Fouw were among a group of Dutch artists who took up residence in Ireland in the 1950s, including Guus Melai, Bert van Embden, Willem van Velzen, Piet Sluis, and Cor Klaasen, the latter of whom was particularly noted for his textbook cover-designs. Van Gelderen died on February 28, 1994 at his home in

Sandyford Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and S ...

, following a lung operation. He was survived by his wife Lies van Gelderen and four children, Merlin, Aoife, Finn, and Oisín.

Work

*''Doings'' (Dublin: Educational Company of Ireland, 1975). * ''An tOchtapas agus Rainn Eile'' (''The Octopus and Other Verses'') (Dublin: Clódhanna Teo, 1977), illustrations by Gerrit van Gelderen. * ''The Burren'' (1984). Director, writer and cinematographer.Gerrit van Gelderen
IMDB. * '' Amuigh Faoin Spéir (Outdoors Beneath the Sky''), RTÉ Television, 1963-1974, by Éamon de Buitléar, drawings by Gerrit van Gelderen. * ''To the Waters and the Wild,'' RTÉ Television, 1974-1994. *''To the Waters and the Wild/Adventures of a Wildlife Film Maker'' (Dingle: Brandon Books, 1986).

References

*Patrick Long, "Van Gelderen, Gerrit", ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', James Mcguire, James Quinn, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2009, {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelderen, Gerrit van 1926 births 1994 deaths Dutch editorial cartoonists Dutch illustrators Van Gelderen Van Gelderen Royal Academy of Art, The Hague alumni Artists from Rotterdam Dutch emigrants to Ireland