Johannes Henricus de Bois
Although his name will not immediately ring a bell for everybody, the art dealer, journalist and publisher Johannes Henricus de Bois (1878-1946) was a prominent figure in Dutch cultural life between 1900 and 1950. He ran a successful art gallery in Haarlem, introducing the work of cutting-edge international artists, but he was also a publisher with a good nose for writing of true quality. The RKD preserves his archive, which consists mainly of copy books covering his extensive business correspondence, as well as scrapbooks with cuttings, a manuscript and a few photographs.
Early years as art dealer
In 1898, after a few years as an apprentice journalist, the 20-year-old De Bois was taken on by the Amsterdam art dealers E.J. van Wisselingh & Co. Soon afterwards he got a job working for the Amsterdam firm C.M. van Gogh, where he perfected his skills as an art dealer. From 1906 until 1911 he was manager of the Kneuterdijk branch of the business in The Hague. De Bois then joined forces with A.T.A. Artz to set up the firm of Artz en De Bois. Early on he regularly dealt in the work of Van Gogh, but gradually he came to specialise in paintings and drawings by the French symbolist Odilon Redon, whose work was then virtually unknown in Holland. After a number of successful sales in the United States, the time was ripe for him to open his own art gallery in Haarlem.
Running his own art business in Haarlem
De Bois was now an art dealer experienced in working with modern art in Holland as well as abroad, with a special interest in graphic work. He acquired works for numerous international collectors and organised exhibitions in which he introduced the general public to such artists as Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Kokoschka, Gustav Klimt and James Ensor. De Bois’s extensive business correspondence is recorded in a number of hefty copy books with carbon copies of his out-going letters, and these are now housed in the RKD. Although the handwriting is sometimes difficult to read because of smudging of the ink, the books nonetheless provide excellent insights into De Bois’s clientèle as well as a complete record of works of art sold by him.
Publisher and writer
In addition, Johannes Henricus de Bois worked as publisher, for example bringing out prints in small editions but also a series called Haarlemsche Kunstboekjes (Little Art Books from Haarlem). From 1918 onwards, he published the Tweemaandelijksch Bulletin (Bimonthly Bulletin), which contained news about contemporary artists as well as lists of works for sale in his art gallery. From the moment his career began, he had also written regular columns and critical essays on art for well-known national papers including De Telegraaf, De Javabode and the Haarlem's Dagblad. In 1918 he published a collection of stories called Dichtertje – De uitvreter – Titaantjes, a literary work which it seemed no publisher would take on but which took the fancy of De Bois. For a while the name of its author – J.H.F. Grönloh, who became famous as Nescio – remained secret, giving rise to a rumour that De Bois had written the stories himself. To bring speculation to an end, publisher and writer were eventually forced to reveal the author’s real name ten years later. De Bois also made a name for himself as art critic, writing more than two hundred reviews for the Haarlem’s Dagblad alone, in a column titled ‘Van kunst en kunstenaars’ (‘On art and artists’).
After the First World War
In the 1920s De Bois organised a great many exhibitions featuring well-known national and international artists. He had a particular interest in the work of the Belgian symbolist artist William Degouve de Nuncques (1867-1935) with whom he also had a good personal relationship, as emerges from correspondence and accounts of their meetings. Another of his protegés was the young expressionist painter Herman Kruyder (1888-1935). The artist was very fond of the art-dealer, who was committed to helping him in his career, and he drew a portrait of De Bois. De Bois’s circle of friends also included the Dutch artist Toon Kelder (1894-1973), who drew a caricature of him. After 1925, as the economic recession worsened, business became increasingly difficult for art dealers. De Bois felt compelled to sell off part of his stock, although he continued to organise exhibitions. After the Second World War the art market had lost its earlier momentum. De Bois died in Haarlem, at his gallery on the Kruisweg, in 1946. His life had been devoted to his love of modern art, which he had professed and pursued in many different ways. His archive bears witness to a productive and successful life.
