Margriet Windhausen (born 24 June 1942) is a New Zealand

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Life

Margriet Windhausen was born in

Roermond Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to painter Fons Windhausen and is the fourth generation of the Windhausen family to be an artist. She studied sculpture from 1962 to 1965 at the City Academy of Fine Arts in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

. From 1965 to 1972 she was a teacher at

Posterholt Posterholt is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Roerdalen. History The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Posterholt. The etymology is unclear. Posterholt is a linear forest cultivation villa ...

. She emigrated to New Zealand in 1976, where she made a name as a sculptor. For 25 years from 1990, she and her husband Paul van den Bergh lived in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

in two churches that they moved to the site and converted into a home and studio. In 2014 they moved to the

Kāpiti Coast Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: * Kapiti (New Zealand electorate), a former Parliamentary electorate *Kāpiti Coast District, a local government district *Kapiti Island * Kapiti Coast Airport * Kāpiti College *Kāpiti Expressway * Kapiti Fine Food ...

. In 1993 she was awarded a

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. Windhausen and her husband have a number of children and grandchildren.

Works

In the early 1980s she made a number of bronze portraits. She then received a number of commissions for monumental works, such as a bronze statue of the New Zealand boxer

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a Cornish professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating "Gentleman Jim" Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sulliv ...

, which was commissioned by New Zealand property magnate and boxing fan Sir Robert Jones, and which is located in a public square in

. Windhausen also made a two-metre high work of the sailing ships of

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...

. This work was commissioned by the Netherlands-New Zealand Federation, and unveiled in Wellington on 17 March 1992 by

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

. For the centenary of women's suffrage in New Zealand, she made the

Kate Sheppard National Memorial The ''Kate Sheppard National Memorial'', located in the city of Christchurch, is New Zealand's first memorial to the women's suffrage campaign, and particularly honours the life of one of the country's leading campaigners for women's suffrage, ...

, a bronze relief measuring five by over two metres. This work was unveiled on 19 September 1993. Windhausen's work also includes a statue of Captain John Hamilton which was installed in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

's Civic Square. In 2018, the statue was vandalised by activist Taitimu Maipi. Maipi used a hammer and red paint to damage the statue, and said that it did not make sense to celebrate a man who murdered the ancestors of local Māori. Windhausen said that "history is controversial and that's why I want to say I respect aitimu Maipi'sfeelings for Captain Hamilton". Windhausen said her sculpture, to her, only went as far as illustrating where the name of the city came from. Further protests against the statue followed in 2020, including a march. The statue was removed from the square in June 2020 by Hamilton City Council. Windhausen created the bronze Land Girl Monument, which was installed and unveiled at Maungati in South Canterbury in October 2022, to commemorate the contributions of women who worked on farms in New Zealand during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Other works by Windhausen include a sculpture of athlete

Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushington ...

for

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At t ...

and ''The Face of Peace'', installed at

Caroline Bay Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to people, and is the ...

. File:Head of a Woman, polychromed terracotta, 2012.jpg File:De Nieuwe Koerier vol 055 no 146 Birth announcement Margriet Windhausen.jpg, alt=Windhausen's birth announcement from 1942, Windhausen's birth announcement File:Head of a Woman 2017. Polychromed terracotta, glass beads. 40x30x20cm.jpg File:Kate Sheppard Memorial. FZ200 (14409824662).jpg, alt=Close up on the Kate Sheppard National Memorial, a bronze bas-relief sculpture, Close up of the Kate Sheppard National Memorial File:Jack Lovelock, bronze, 2002, Timaru NZ crop.jpg, alt=, Jack Lovelock sculpture, Timaru Boys High School, Timaru, New Zealand, 2002 File:Jack Lovelock. bronze, 2004,.jpg, alt=, center, Jack Lovelock File:Land Girl Monument Maungati (cropped).jpg, Land Girl Monument

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windhausen, Margriet People from Roermond Artists from Limburg (Netherlands) People from Timaru 1942 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand sculptors Dutch emigrants to New Zealand Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 20th-century New Zealand women sculptors 21st-century New Zealand women sculptors