Boudewijn Hiltermann has been collecting work by Ans Wortel for decades. The two met in 1980 at an exhibition in Warmenhuizen. There Hiltermann and his then wife bought their first work by the artist. That didn’t happen without a struggle.
She didn’t want to sell her art
“Ans first said that the painting was not for sale, even though it was just hanging at a sales exhibition,” says Hiltermann, laughing. Ultimately, the work was allowed to be taken home, on the condition that Wortel could come and view it occasionally. “And she really did.”
It depicts the person Ans Wortel. “Not an easy woman. She was intense, stubborn and contrary. At times it seemed that she was being contrary on purpose,” Hiltermann remembers her with a smile. After that first purchase, a close friendship developed over many years.
Carrot was always working
Hiltermann subsequently built up a large collection, with work from various periods by Wortel. “She created several thousand works of art. She was actually always working. During the day, in the evening, seven days a week. She sometimes even forgot to eat.”
He also became a regular at home in Bergen, where the then mayor allowed her to look after villa Kranenburgh since 1969 until it was given a new purpose. When she had to leave the villa in 1991 because it became a museum, it turned into a major struggle; all the way to the right. She lost and left with much fanfare.
Watch a report below about Ans Wortel, her bond with Bergen and the return of her works to Kranenburgh in 2018 (text continues below video):
