Summary
Nola Hatterman (1899–1984) was a Dutch-Surinamese artist whose work connected portraiture, colonial history, Black representation and art education. Her oeuvre is now dispersed across museums, private collections and unknown locations.
Research by Dr Ellen de Vries has been crucial in reconstructing Hatterman’s legacy. Her project identified around 160 works, rediscovered more than forty works and helped trace many others. Some important works, including Jazz, Zwarte Pieta and Op het terras, have been recovered, while nine works are still considered missing.
The blog maps what is publicly accessible, privately held, rediscovered or still unlocated, showing how Hatterman’s artistic legacy continues to depend on research, archives and access.
Full Article....
NOLA HATTERMAN
An Oeuvre in Public, Private and Missing Collections
An Oeuvre in Public, Private and Missing Collections
Nola Hatterman (1899–1984) occupies an important position in the artistic history connecting the Netherlands and Suriname. Her practice encompassed painting, drawing, illustration, theatre, public decoration and art education. Yet only part of her oeuvre remains visible in public collections today.
Her best-known painting, Louis Richard Drenthe / Op het terras (1930), is held by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Beyond this work lies a much larger body of paintings, drawings, lithographs, illustrations, stage designs and studies, dispersed across museums in the Netherlands and Suriname, private collections, family estates and locations that are still unknown.
Long-term research by Dr Ellen de Vries has been fundamental to reconstructing this dispersed oeuvre. Her work has made it possible to identify works, trace ownership, recover archival material and bring previously lost or overlooked parts of Hatterman’s practice back into view.
Amsterdam and Suriname
Nola Hatterman was born in Amsterdam in 1899. She initially trained and worked as an actress before increasingly concentrating on the visual arts. She did not follow a conventional academy education but received private artistic training from, among others, Vittorio Schiavon, Charles Haak and Harmen Meurs.
From 1919 onwards she exhibited with artists’ associations including De Onafhankelijken, Sint Lucas and De Brug.
During the 1930s, Black people became increasingly prominent in her work. Hatterman rejected stereotypical and exotic representations and portrayed her subjects as individuals and as participants in contemporary society.
Her Amsterdam home and studio were connected to a network of Surinamese students, artists, intellectuals and political activists. Her work developed alongside an increasing engagement with colonial history, social inequality and the position of Surinamese people in the Netherlands.
During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Hatterman refused to register with the Nazi-controlled Kultuurkamer. As a consequence, she could no longer officially exhibit.
In 1953 she travelled to the Caribbean and subsequently settled permanently in Suriname.
There, teaching became one of the central elements of her practice. She trained generations of artists and contributed significantly to the development of art education in Paramaribo. After her death, the art academy that grew from this tradition was named the Nola Hatterman Art Academy.
Op het terras
Hatterman’s best-known work is Op het terras from 1930.
For many years, the sitter in the painting was believed to be Jimmy van der Lak. Research by Ellen de Vries, including newly examined archival material and correspondence by Hatterman, led to the identification of the man as trumpeter Louis Richard Drenthe, known as Lou Drenthe.
The Stedelijk Museum now records the work as Louis Richard Drenthe / Op het terras.
The correction is an important example of the role archival research plays in art history. A person who had effectively lost his identity within the historical record was given his name back.
Ellen de Vries and the Reconstruction of the Oeuvre
A substantial part of what is now known about Nola Hatterman’s life and work is connected to the research of Dr Ellen de Vries.
In 2008 De Vries published the biography Nola. Portret van een eigenzinnig kunstenares. A second edition appeared in 2009, followed by an e-book edition in 2017.
She later initiated the research project De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman / The Legacy of Nola Hatterman, supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
The project focused not only on interpreting Hatterman’s work, but on reconstructing the oeuvre itself. Archives and historical exhibition catalogues were examined, works were traced, locations were verified and private owners were contacted.
A research database containing approximately 160 works was created.
More than forty works were subsequently rediscovered.
A later discovery connected to the estate of Hatterman’s student and heir Armand Baag revealed hundreds of additional works, including more than three hundred drawings by Hatterman.
De Vries also compiled and edited the 2021 publication Nola Hatterman. Geen kunst zonder kunnen, with contributions by Ronald Venetiaan, Rein Wolfs, Stephan Sanders, Esther Schreuder, Kitty Zijlmans, Priscilla Tosari, Myra Winter, Eline de Jong, Bart Krieger and Lizzy van Leeuwen.
Her research provides one of the most important foundations for the current understanding of Hatterman’s oeuvre and its dispersal.
Works in Public and Private Collections
A complete public catalogue raisonné of Nola Hatterman is not currently available online. The following overview therefore represents works and locations that can be established through publicly accessible research and institutional sources.
| Work | Date | Known location or status |
|---|---|---|
| Vuurpijlen in glazen vaas | 1928 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Stilleven met borstplaat | 1929 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; documented on loan to Museum Arnhem |
| Stilleven met rode kam | 1929 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Op het terras / Louis Richard Drenthe | 1930 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Bomen (Bosch) | 1930 | Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam |
| Nieuw Stadsgedeelte | 1931 | Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam |
| Danseres | 1932 | Frans Hals Museum |
| Stilleven met tulpen | 1932 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Jazz | 1934 | Museum Arnhem |
| Stilleven met appel | 1935 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Trompettist | 1936 or earlier | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Vrienden | 1937 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Arbeider | 1939 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Verpleegster | 1939 | Tropenmuseum / Wereldmuseum |
| Stilleven met appels | 1941 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Surinaamse Arbeider | 1941 | Tropenmuseum / Wereldmuseum |
| Portret Rinia Klokke-Moll | 1943 | Tropenmuseum / Wereldmuseum |
| Zwarte Pieta / La Pietà | 1949 | Centraal Museum Utrecht |
| Lezend jongetje | ca. 1949 | private collection |
| presumed self-portrait, London | 1951 | private collection |
| Kotomissie | 1951 | Tropenmuseum / Wereldmuseum |
| West-Indisch Dansfeest | ca. 1951 | private collection |
| Vervolgden | 1952 | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Na Fesie | 1953 | private collection |
| Humpie | 1958 | Veltman-Geelhoed Collection |
| De bewening — ode aan een gevallen slaaf | 1968 | State Collection, Republic of Suriname |
| Vrouw in het blauw | 1970s | De Surinaamsche Bank, Paramaribo |
| Portret Maud de Lang | ca. 1979 | private collection |
| Meisje | date uncertain | Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam |
| Het gezin | date uncertain | Surinaams Museum, Paramaribo |
| Portret van een saxofonist | date uncertain | Surinaams Museum, Paramaribo |
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam holds a particularly important group of works by Hatterman. Other paintings and drawings are divided between institutional collections in the Netherlands and Suriname and a substantial number of private collections.
Rediscovered Works
One of the most significant outcomes of the research project was the rediscovery of works that had disappeared from public view.
Among the works traced through the project are:
| Work | Date | Traced location |
|---|---|---|
| Meisje | before 1953? | Verwey Collection |
| Pagekop | 1930s? | Piet and Diana van Toor Collection |
| Amsterdamse Brug | ca. 1930 | Schenk family |
| Die ene dans | unknown | De Lang family |
| Kruisweg | 1980–1984 | private collection |
| Paloeloes | ca. 1967 | private collection |
| Voorstelling | 1971 or earlier | private collection |
| Dakkameruitzicht (Palais de danse) | 1951 or earlier | private collection |
| John | 1970s | private collection |
| Ida Schmidt, Brokopondo | 1975 | Schmidt Collection |
| Freedom Fighters | 1946 or earlier | private collection |
| Waterkant / Fort Zeelandia | 1963 or earlier | private collection |
| Tekenend Kind | ca. 1946 | private collection |
| Straatje in Trinidad | 1953 | private collection |
| Thoughts in Blue | mid-1950s | private collection |
| Idylle | 1952 or earlier | private collection |
| Landschap Brokopondo? | date uncertain | private collection |
| Stadsgezicht | date uncertain | private collection |
| Maskers | before 1953 | private collection |
| Zonder titel | date uncertain | private collection |
| Londen | 1950 | private collection |
| Suze | date uncertain | private collection |
| West-Indisch Dansfeest | 1951 or earlier | private collection |
The distinction between a rediscovered work and a publicly accessible work is important. Many of these objects have been located but remain in private collections and are rarely, if ever, publicly exhibited.
Their physical existence has been confirmed, while their public visibility remains limited.
Works Still Missing
The research project The Legacy of Nola Hatterman currently identifies nine works whose present location remains unknown.
Mevrouw N.
ca. 1931
The painting was reproduced in the June 1931 issue of Maandblad voor Beeldende Kunsten in an article by art critic Ro van Oven. Its current location is unknown.
Liggend Naakt
ca. 1931
This work was also reproduced in the 1931 Maandblad voor Beeldende Kunsten. Its present whereabouts remain unknown.
Surinamer (Frits Frezer)
ca. 1930
The work appears in historical exhibition catalogues of Sint Lucas, De Brug and De Onafhankelijken from 1930, 1931 and 1932. Historical documentation exists, but the original work has not been located.
Ona
possibly 1926
The painting was auctioned at Sotheby’s Amsterdam in 1997. Research suggests that it may correspond to a work shown by Hatterman with De Onafhankelijken in 1926. The current owner is unknown.
Naakt
date uncertain
This work was sold at Sotheby’s Amsterdam in 2001. Its subsequent location is unknown.
Kleurling
1929
The painting is documented through historical newspaper coverage, including a photograph published in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant in May 1929. The painting itself has not been located.
Jazz, jazz
ca. 1976
This work was included in an inventory compiled by art historian Lia Ottes, who documented approximately ninety Hatterman works for her 1999 thesis. Its current location remains unknown.
Avocadoboom
ca. 1956
The painting was at one point offered for sale through the Dutch online platform Marktplaats. The present owner is unknown.
(Berto) Pasuka
ca. 1948?
A drawing titled Pasuka is mentioned in a 1948 newspaper review. Research has suggested that the subject may have been the Jamaican-British dancer and choreographer Berto Pasuka, although this identification has not been confirmed.
These works remain part of the documented oeuvre even though their physical location is presently unknown.
Works That Returned
Several works now held in known collections were themselves once considered lost or had an uncertain location.
Among them were:
Op het terras
Meisje
Trompettist
Jazz
Danseres
Zwarte Pieta
Their rediscovery demonstrates the importance of continuing provenance research, archive research and collaboration with private collectors.
A missing work is not necessarily a destroyed work. It may still exist in a private home, an estate, a storage facility or an unidentified collection.
Slavery, Resistance and Historical Memory
Hatterman’s later work increasingly engaged with Surinamese history.
One important project was a four-part cycle dealing with slavery and marronage, inspired by Anton de Kom’s Wij slaven van Suriname.
The cycle addressed slavery, resistance and the escape of enslaved people from plantations.
One documented work from this cycle, De bewening — ode aan een gevallen slaaf from 1968, belongs to the State Collection of the Republic of Suriname.
Towards the end of her life, while living in Brokopondo, Hatterman completed another part of the cycle, Aanval op de plantage.
These works demonstrate that her engagement with representation extended beyond portraiture and contemporary society into the historical structures of colonialism and resistance.
Beyond Painting
Hatterman’s oeuvre extends well beyond painting.
She worked as an illustrator, created stage designs and public decorations and contributed images to books and political and cultural publications.
Her illustrations appeared in publications including Het web — ’n schildersleven (1929), Beschadigde (1929), De man zonder moraal (1930), Theun de Vries’ De Vrijheid gaat in ’t rood gekleed (1945), Soewarsih Djojopoespito’s Buiten het gareel (1946) and publications connected to Rosey Pool.
She also designed a float decoration for the liberation celebrations following the Second World War, created a wall decoration for Jimmy van der Lak’s Surinamese restaurant in Amsterdam and designed scenery for Eddy Bruma’s play De geboorte van Boni.
Her work also appeared on postage stamps.
For the celebrations surrounding Suriname’s independence in 1975, she designed Vrijheid en Ruimte, combining a futuristic visual language with references to the traditional Surinamese koto.
Her artistic legacy therefore includes painting, drawing, illustration, performance, education and public visual culture.
A Dispersed Oeuvre
Today, Hatterman’s work exists in very different conditions.
Some works belong to major public museums.
Others are held in Surinamese institutions.
A substantial number are privately owned.
Some works have been rediscovered but rarely shown.
Others survive only through photographs, catalogues, auction records or historical descriptions.
The research database developed by Ellen de Vries contained approximately 160 works. More than forty works were rediscovered during the project, followed by the later discovery of hundreds of additional works, particularly drawings, connected to the Baag estate.
At the same time, parts of the oeuvre remain incompletely inventoried and a number of works have still not been located.
This fragmented visibility is now part of the history of Hatterman’s work itself.
The archive, the museum collection, the private collection and the missing object together form the present condition of the oeuvre.
Research Note
This article was compiled from publicly accessible research and institutional sources.
It does not constitute a complete catalogue raisonné of Nola Hatterman.
The research database developed within De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman / The Legacy of Nola Hatterman contained approximately 160 works. The selected digital oeuvre overview that accompanied the original research project is no longer publicly available.
For further academic research, the project website refers researchers to Dr Ellen de Vries.
Locations described as private collections reflect the most precise information currently available through the published research. Ownership or location may have changed since these works were registered.
Works for which historical evidence exists but no current location can be verified are described here as missing, unlocated or of unknown present whereabouts rather than as destroyed.
Sources
Ellen de Vries
Nola. Portret van een eigenzinnig kunstenares. Klapwijk & Keijsers, 2008; second edition 2009; e-book edition 2017.
Ellen de Vries, editor and author
Nola Hatterman. Geen kunst zonder kunnen. Waanders & De Kunst, 2021.
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman / The Legacy of Nola Hatterman
Research project initiated by Dr Ellen de Vries, supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
Texts: Ellen de Vries.
Images: heirs of Nola Hatterman.
www.nolahatterman.com
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman — Oeuvre
Research database, rediscovered works and documentation of the Baag estate.
www.nolahatterman.com/oeuvre/
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman — Beeldende kunst
Works, locations, artistic development and historical context.
www.nolahatterman.com/beeldende-kunst/
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman — Vondsten
Rediscovered and traced works, including works in private collections.
www.nolahatterman.com/vondsten/
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman — Zoekgeraakte werken
Documentation of works whose current whereabouts remain unknown.
www.nolahatterman.com/zoekgeraakte-werken/
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman — Illustraties
Documentation of Hatterman’s work as an illustrator.
www.nolahatterman.com/illustraties/
De Nalatenschap van Nola Hatterman — Decoraties
Documentation of stage designs, public decorations and other applied work.
www.nolahatterman.com/decoraties/
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Collection records and research relating to Nola Hatterman, including Louis Richard Drenthe / Op het terras.
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam / Rijksprentenkabinet
Collection and research documentation relating to Nola Hatterman.
Museum Arnhem
Collection documentation relating to Jazz and works by Hatterman associated with the museum.
Centraal Museum Utrecht
Collection documentation relating to Zwarte Pieta / La Pietà.
Wereldmuseum / former Tropenmuseum collections
Collection documentation relating to works including Verpleegster, Surinaamse Arbeider, Kotomissie and Portret Rinia Klokke-Moll.
Surinaams Museum, Paramaribo
Collection context for works by Nola Hatterman in Suriname.
With particular acknowledgement of Dr Ellen de Vries, whose long-term research into Nola Hatterman’s life, artistic practice and dispersed oeuvre provides an essential foundation for this overview.