Suze ter Gast-Rosse Archive
In 2022, the archive of The Hague artist Suze ter Gast-Rosse (1884-1968) was donated to the RKD. Ter Gast-Rosse was an accomplished painter and watercolorist. She was the daughter of artist Carl Rosse and the wife of artist Frans ter Gast. Important pieces from them are also included in the archive that is now part of the RKD's collection.
Thorough art training
Bertha Susanna (Suze) Rosse enjoyed extensive artistic training at home and abroad. It was exceptional for that time for a female artist to receive such a comprehensive education. In the Netherlands, for example, she attended the School for Arts and Crafts in Haarlem and the Akademie van Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague around 1907. After this, she spent several years in London, where she was educated at the Royal College of Art and the South Kensington School of Arts. Around 1910, she spent a period working in Paris, taking classes at the progressive Académie Colarossi. She then obtained the LO certificate in drawing from the Akademie van Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague.
2. Suze ter Gast-Rosse, Hydrangea, collection unknown
3. Suze ter Gast Rosse, Landscape, collection unknown
Exhibitions and artist associations
After Rosse married shadow artist, decoration painter, (graphic) designer and textile artist Frans ter Gast (1880-1970) on January 12, 1911, she moved back to her hometown of The Hague. Two years later, the portrait photograph was taken of her, which still remains in the family collection. In The Hague, she worked as a portrait and landscape painter, watercolorist and decorative designer. She became a member of several artists' associations; for example, Ter Gast-Rosse joined the famous Hague society Pulchri Studio. At this artist association, she participated as member in several exhibitions, including in 1932, 1955 and 1960. She was also a member of artists' association De Onafhankelijken and the artists’ collective Schilderessenvereniging ODIS. She regularly exhibited her work with them as well.
Acquisition to the RKD
The archives of Suze ter Gast-Rosse, as well as the documents concerning her father Carl Rosse and her husband Frans ter Gast, have recently been transferred to the RKD. On the basis of, for instance, the scrapbooks contained in the archive, the life and development of Suze ter Gast-Rosse as an artist can be followed closely through her various activities, exhibitions and memberships in artists' associations in The Hague. The archives offer an interesting insight into the female artist's life in the early twentieth century. It is also great that the documentation of three related artists can be kept together, ensuring that context will not be lost.