Portrait of President M. Roy Wilson
Artist
Frits Hoendervanger
(Dutch, born 1947)
Date2024
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsImage Size: 54 × 36 in. (137.2 × 91.4 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCommission, 2024
Object numberUAC7762
DescriptionBorn in 1947, Dutch artist Fritz Hoendervanger was self-taught, having received no formal training for his works, which have received national recognition and praise. Originally from the Netherlands, his family immigrated to Canada when he was fifteen, then later immigrated to the United States. He has since gone on to win both numerous awards and acclaim. He won the 2011 Grand Prize in The Artist’s Magazine’s annual All Media Competition, then the 3rd place prize for ArtPrize in 2012, the 2021 “First Place – Best in Show Award” at the International Guild of Realism Fall Online Salon Exhibition, and in that same year won the Award of Excellence in the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Exhibition. His works can be found in both private and public collections, such as the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s permanent collection, the personal collection of former President Gerald R. Ford, and the Michigan Governor’s mansion.Hoendervanger is well known for his hyperrealist paintings1 and has shown his work at the International Guild of Realism 2021 exhibition, where he won first place.2 His is inspired by the Dutch masters and their use of light, and many of his paintings feature landscapes that have been affected by the passage of time.3 His only painting in Wayne State’s Collection, Portrait of President M. Roy Wilson, from 2024, while slightly more stylized than many of his other photorealistic works, still retains much of his realist style, especially in the rocks and surface of the water in the pond behind the titular figure. The hyper realistic pond integrates seamlessly into the stylized design of both the building and M. Roy Wilson. Wilson himself stands out enough in his dark blue suit and white shoes to not be overshadowed by the more intricate background yet still looks as though he belongs in the painting. The color palette used also ties the background, the foreground, and the figure together. The lighter grey of the building is the same grey used on the top of the realistic rocks in the pond and Wilson’s watch, and the light blue windows that fade into a light bottle green with hints of light brown on one side of the building mimic the same light green color with hints of light brown-yellow of the pond. There is also a harmonious mix of geometric and organic shapes, as the pond reflects a softer, hazier version of the building’s more angular windows, and the irregularly shaped rocks that are found in the pond are also sprinkled throughout the background. All of these attributes work together to create a strongly integrated work of both stylized and hyperrealist form.
Written by Kayla Plenda
1. “December 8, 2023 – January 13, 2024: Contemporary Realism: Four Artists, Four Voices,” Buckham Gallery, Accessed Apr. 27, 2026, https://www.buckhamgallery.org/contemporary-realism-four-artist-four-voices.html
2. “IGOR 2021 Fall Salon Online Exhibition: Award Winners,” Realism Guild, Accessed Apr. 27, 2026, https://www.realismguild.com/2021FallSalon/Awards/index.php
3. Jeffery Kaczmarczyk, “ArtPrize 2014: Meet Final 20 Artist Frits Hoendervanger, ‘Autumn’s Passage,’” Mlive, Oct. 06, 2014, Accessed Apr. 27, 2026, https://www.mlive.com/artprize/2014/10/artprize_2014_meet_final_20_aritst_fris_hoendervanger_autumns_passage.html
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