Dolf Zwerver (1932–2010) was a Dutch painter. He was born in Nijehaske and died in Utrecht. As a child he lived in the Frisian village of Oranjewoud; shortly before the Second World War he moved with his parents to Utrecht. His father was a painter and commercial artist, which meant that drawing and painting were present in his life from an early age.
Zwerver initially worked in and around the field of advertising. From the late 1950s onward, he focused on a career as a painter as a self-taught artist. In 1965 he gained wider recognition after being noticed in a competition for amateur painters organized by Eva magazine, after which he further developed over the following years as a fine painter. Zwerver’s work is characterized by dreamy, contemplative paintings. Still gardens, labyrinths, and forests form a recurring setting. Both Oranjewoud and the Rhijnauwen estate near Utrecht were frequently used sources of inspiration. Initially, his work was sometimes categorized as naïve art.
Works by Zwerver can be seen in, among other places, the Centraal Museum (Utrecht) and the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam). He also exhibited at the Rembrandt House and had a major retrospective exhibition at Slot Zeist.
