Description
John Archibald Alexander Berrie (1887-1962)
Potrait of Mrs. Stokdijk-Chasler
Signed lower right John A. A. Berrie (underneath the frame)
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 76 cm.
Conditon: In fair condition, underneath the frame some paintloss, especially in the upper left and right corner, would benefit from restoration.
Price on request
Rosalina “Ro” Stokdijk-Chasler, was born into a Jewish family in Rotterdam in 1908. In 1938, she moved to London with her second husband, Johannes Arnoldus Stokdijk, a merchant born in Rotterdam. In London she became the secretary to Hubertus Johannes “Huib” van Mook, the Lieutenant Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948, and followed him to the Dutch East-Indies. Van Mook was a key figure in Dutch colonial administration, advocating for a self-governing Indonesia under Dutch rule. As his secretary, Stokdijk was at the center of political negotiations during a tumultuous era. Her time in the Dutch East Indies was further complicated by a personal relationship with Van Mook with whom she had a love affair. The recently published book “Saluut Batavia,” which tells the stories of female KNIL soldiers and Van Mook’s biography, “H.J. Van Mook 1894-1965 een vrij en gelukkig Indonesie”, offer context to Stokdijk’s experiences during the Indonesian National Revolution. Serving alongside Van Mook, she gained a unique perspective on the social and political upheaval in the region. After her time in the Dutch East Indies Rosalina and het husband Johannes Stokdijk moved to Cairo (Egypt), where they lived a couple of years before returning to the Netherlands in 1955, settling in Rotterdam.
About the artist: John Archibald Alexander Berrie, mainly a portrait painter, was born near Manchester and studied at Bootle and Liverpool Schools of Art, at Hubert Herkomer’s School at Bushey, then in Paris. Exhibited at RA, with RCamA of which he became a full member in 1923 and extensively with Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, which holds portraits of local worthies by him. Had a solo exhibition at Walker’s Galleries, 1936. Among his portraits were King George V and Winston Churchill. Lived in London, Harrogate and finally Johannesburg, South Africa. Text source: ‘Artists in Britain Since 1945’ by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
English 
Nederlands