{{short description|Dutch artist}} {{AI-generated|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox artist | name = Dick Elffers | image = Dick Elffers.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Dirk Cornelis Elffers | birth_date = {{birth date|1910|12|9|df=y}} | birth_place = Rotterdam, the Netherlands | death_date = {{death date and age|1990|6|17|1910|12|9|df=y}} | death_place = Amsterdam, the Netherlands | education = Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (Rotterdam) | field = Painting | training = | movement = | works = | patrons = | awards = | spouse = Emmy Andriesse | partner = }}
thumb|Totem Pole by Elffers in Gouda. '''Dirk Cornelis''' "'''Dick'''" '''Elffers''' (Rotterdam, 9 December 1910 – Amsterdam, 17 June 1990) was a Dutch artist.<ref name="RKD"/><ref>Bruinsma, Max ''Een leest heeft drie voeten: Dick Elffers & de kunsten'' (1989) uitg. De Balie, Amsterdam, {{ISBN|90-6617-062-X}}</ref><ref>Elffers, Dick ''Vorm en tegenvorm: poging tot een portret van een ontwerper'' (1976) uitg. Gerrit Jan Thiemefonds, Amsterdam</ref>
== Life == Elffers was trained at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (Rotterdam) as graphic designer.<ref name="RKD">{{cite web |title=Dick Elffers |url=https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/artists/25941 |website=RKD |access-date=31 December 2020 |language=nl}}</ref> While at Rotterdam, he developed a more expressive and individualistic style, often combining hand-drawn typography, illustration, and vibrant colors. From this, his development turned him into a versatile artist: illustrator, painter, printmaker, book binding designer, sculptor, ceramist and photographer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dick Elffers : an Art of Creative Arrangement |url=https://vanabbemuseum.nl/en/collection-research/library/publications/dick-elffers-an-art-of-creative-arrangement |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=vanabbemuseum.nl |language=en}}</ref> After Efflers' time at Rotterdam, he became an assistant to Paul Schuitema and Piet Zwart.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=40 years of lace – Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) – 512 creative professionals from 46 countries |url=https://a-g-i.org/design/40-years-of-lace |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) |language=en}}</ref> Besides performer from 1970 to 1976 he was lecturer in monumental art at the AKV St. Joost in 's-Hertogenbosch. Elffers received the State Award for Typography for his typographic work. Elffers' work is included in the collection of the Joods Historisch Museum. Elffers was also involved as a designer at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, both in the graphic design of the museum and the exhibit design.{{fact|date=December 2020}} Notably, he worked on projects like the 1965 exhibition "40 Years of Lace," showcasing his skills in integrating visual and spatial design for cultural institutions. His broader career at the museum is less precisely documented, but his association with this work places him as a key figure in museum design during the mid-20th century.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=40 years of lace – Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) – 512 creative professionals from 46 countries |url=https://a-g-i.org/design/40-years-of-lace |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) |language=en}}</ref>
Elffers' work was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale ''Onze Kunst van Heden'' (Our Art of Today) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.<ref name="Beeldend BeNeLux Elektronisch ">{{cite web |title=Onze kunst van heden, 1939 - |url=https://www.artindex.nl/lexicon/default.asp?id=6&num=0933300087065090752012317007880100303300&relt=3001&limit=no&in= |website=Beeldend BeNeLux Elektronisch (Lexicon) |access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>
== Family == Dick Elffers was the son of Gerard Elffers (1868–1941) and Petronella Smits (1870–1912). He had 13 brothers and sisters. His brother Kees was an architect, his sister Jo interior designer. Dick was married in 1941 with the photographer Emmy Andriesse (1914–1953), and remarried in 1954 Mien Harmsen (1915–2000). He is the father of writer, artist and illustrator Joost Elffers.{{fact|date=December 2020}}
== See also == * List of Dutch ceramists * List of Dutch sculptors
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commonscat}} * [http://www.capriolus.nl/nl/content/elffers-dick Elffers, Dick] at capriolus.nl {{in lang|nl}} * [http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=1713 Work of Elffers] in the Moma collection.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elffers, Dirk Cornelis}} Category:1910 births Category:1990 deaths Category:Dutch designers Category:Dutch sculptors Category:Dutch male sculptors Category:People from Leiderdorp Category:20th-century Dutch ceramists