Edgar Fernhout

Edgar Richard Johannes Fernhout (Bergen, Noord-Holland), August 17, 1912 - 4 November 1974) was a Dutch painter.

He was the son of the artist Annie Caroline Pontifex "Charley" Toorop and the philosopher Henk Fernhout. Like his mother and grandfather, Jan Toorop, he was mainly working as a painter. He married Rachel Louise Pellekaan, draftsman, but no children were born from this marriage. After divorce, in 1947 he married Nannette Salomonson, from this marriage one son was born.

The youth of Eddy Fernhout was far from harmonious. His parents had a bad marriage, and by constant financial problems, the family could not afford a permanent residence. Ironically, only after the marriage of his parents was finally stranded in 1917, there was some improvement for the family with three children. Edgar was dedicated to painting around this time, at the age of sixth, under his mother's guidance.

The grandfather, Jan Toorop took care of his granddaughter while supporting financially his daughter Charley Toorop and her two sons – Edgar and his one-year-younger brother John. For them, he built the studio house 'De Vlerken' in the North Holland Mountains, where they could retire in 1922.

In 1937 the Hague Gallery Nieuwenhuizen Segaar organized a special exhibition about the three generations Toorop family. But his son, Rik Fernhout is also a painter, making the family painting-tradition flow for four generations. He taught alternative art education 'Ateliers' 63' in Haarlem, and among his students were Jan Dibbets, Wessel Couzijn, Carel Visser, Constant and Armando.

Edgar Fernhout painted in his early period especially still life and portraits. His style was initially under the influence of his mother and he began to work more precisely in small sizes.

In his first work – mainly still life and self-portraits – one clearly recognizes Charley's influence. Charley's restless and irregular lifestyle did not benefit her son's secondary school education. In 1928 Fernhout interrupted his studies, and spent the last year of high school in Paris with his mother. Through her relationship with the historian and anarchist Arthur Lehning Charley met representatives of the international avant-garde, such as Jean Arp, Alexander Calder and Max Ernst; and with Piet Mondriaan she renewed her relationship. Him as person and his work, impressed Fernhout and Mondriaan's influence on his later paintings are hard to miss.

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