Adri de Fluiter passed away at the age of 83. He established himself as an artist in Drenthe in 1979 and was best known for his landscape art.
De Whistler himself announced his impending death on Facebook this morning. He suffered from an aggressive form of cancer.
The artist has had exhibitions all over the world, such as in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and several European countries. In Argentina, a work of art by him was realized in 2010 on the Rio Negro during the Bienal de Chaco sculpture festival.
De Fluiter has received the then Queen Beatrix in Drenthe three times for an exhibition. “I think I am the only Dutch person living in Drenthe who managed to lure her to the province three times. Once in 2000 on the Dwingelderveld, then in Barger-Compascuum and in 2009 she visited all kinds of villages in the area where art was,” he said in 2018.
In 2015, De Fluiter was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He received this award because he had been committed to art and nature for more than thirty years. According to the municipality of Coevorden, De Fluiter has brought art close to the people and put Drenthe on the map in this area.
The artist, born in Rhenen on August 16, 1940, left Drenthe in 2018 to live closer to his children and grandchildren. He described his period in Drenthe as “the highlight of my life”.
De Fluiter died in the presence of his family in Zandvoort.