The Dutch artist Kees Andrea was a versatile artist. He made paintings, drawings, etchings, woodcuts, lithographs and stained glass windows in a naive-realistic style. Kees Andrea came from a family of printers. His father was a lithographer and his relatives printed work by M.C. Escher and Jan Veth, among others. Kees Andrea is considered one of the artists of the New Hague School. His son Pat Andrea also became an artist.
After the Second World War, Kees Andrea taught at the Hague Free Academy. Because he did not want to become a member of the Kultuurkamer, he could not teach during the war years.
Kees Andrea was inspired by his travels to Hungary, France and also Spain. This can be seen, for example, in his characteristic Spanish landscapes, Spanish dancers and representations with bulls. His favourite subjects were mainly portraits, figure representations, religion, interiors, landscapes, animals, still lifes and winter landscapes. Andrea preferred to paint a combination of the subjects.
He found his personal style after a trip to Hungary in 1938, where he became acquainted with folk art. He strove for a harmony between people, animals and things.
Kees Andrea was a member of the Schilderkunstig Genootschap Pulchri Studio from 1937. His work was purchased by the Hague Municipal Museum, Museum Zutphen, Gemeentemuseum Arnhem and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, among others. Andrea received an honourable mention for the Jacob Maris Prize in 1949, the Jacob Maris Material Prize in 1951, the Jacob Maris Prize for drawing in 1953, the Visser Neerlandia Prize in 1963, the Jacob Hartog Prize for painting in 1968 (together with Jan Roëde) and the Van Ommeren-de Voogt Prize in 1996.
