Max van Dam

Max van Dam (March 19, 1910 – c. September 20, 1943) was a Dutch artist born in Winterswijk. He died in the Sobibor extermination camp.

Max van Dam was the son of Aron van Dam and Johanna van Dam née Leviticus. Both his parents were Jewish. He grew up in a socialist environment. His father was a certified meat inspector who became the director of the cooperative store De Dageraad, literal translation The Dawn, in Winterswijk, where he had a seat on the town council for the Dutch Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). Van Dam showed an early interest in art, drawing portraits and painting landscapes, and although his father did not encourage an artistic career he did provide Van Dam with early painting commissions. Between 1922 and 1929 Van Dam attended the Rijks Hogere Burgerschool in Winterswijk. His artistic inspirations at the time include Vincent van Gogh and Käthe Kollwitz. It is at this time that his artistic talents and ambitions are noticed by family friend and Max van Dam's lifelong benefactor Dr. Jacob “Jaap” Hemelrijk, who persuaded his father to allow Van Dam to pursue an education in the arts.

To continue his education Van Dam moved to Amsterdam where he first studied to become a grammar school art teacher. Upon completion of the degree, in 1931, he did not take a teaching position but instead enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he took courses from 1933 to 1937. Here he specialised in portraiture and studied under Isodoor Opsomer. In this period his life evolved against the background of the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and the associated anti-semitism, a growing concern of Van Dam and his acquaintances. Van Dam primarily lived in Antwerp but moved frequently between the Netherlands and Belgium and also travelled to Italy and France, to develop his painting skills and improve on his social awareness. In 1932 van Dam designed a stained-glass window for De Dageraad, the work was finished in 1934. That same year he designed the poster for the Demonstration for Socialism and Democracy, organised, for September 16, by the SDAP and the Nederlands Verbond van Vakverenigingen, the Dutch Association of Trade Unions. In 1936 and 1937 he was a frequent guest of Jaap Hemelrijk and his family, in Bergen, where he met graphic artist Fré Cohen and painters Leo Gestel, Charley Toorop and Matthieu Wiegman associated with the Bergen School. His interest in zionism increased and he accepted a commission to paint a portrait of Theodor Herzl. In spite of growing recognition van Dam had a difficult time earning a living as an artist. Between 1933 and 1937 he applied for and was one of the recipients of, the Koninklijke Subsidie voor Vrije Schilderkunst, the Royal Subsidy for painting, awarded annually since 1871, to encourage young painters.

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