Theo Swagemakers Biography
Theo Swagemakers (1898 - 1994) was born in Tilburg, the Netherlands, to an industrial family. From a young age Swagemakers wanted to be a painter and made a career out of his family's successful textile business. He moved to Brussels in 1923 where he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts. After three years of study, he went to Paris to complete his training at the Colorossi Academy. It was here that he began to paint in an Impressionist style and trained alongside fellow artists Charles Eyck and Kees van Dongen. In 1927, at the age of 28, Theo Swagemakers held his first exhibition in Tilburg, the Netherlands. Tilburg would prove to be a great launching pad for the artist, who would exhibit there again in 1936, 1941, 1948, 1959 and 1979. He was one of the most famous Dutch portraitists of the 20th century. He produced, among other things, several portraits of Queen Juliana and the state portrait of Queen Beatrix. But Swagemakers didn't just paint portraits. His free work consisted mainly of still lifes, landscapes and even seascapes. In 1959 he was made a Knight of the Order of Orange Nassau.
