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Dirk van Erp (1860 - 1933) was an Dutch American artisan and metalworker, best known for copper vases and especially for lamps made of copper with mica shades. He was a prominent participant in the Arts and Crafts Movement, and was active in Oakland and San Francisco, CA.
Life
Dirk Koperlager van Erp was born January 1, 1860, in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. His family were coppersmiths. He immigrated to the United States in 1886, and came to San Francisco in 1890, where he went to work for Union Iron Works. In 1892, he married Mary Richardson Marino. In 1898, he traveled to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, but failed to find his fortune. He returned to work at the Union Iron Works.
In 1900, he moved to Vallejo, California, and got a job as a coppersmith at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. He began making lamps from brass shell casings as gifts to friends. He began consigning metal art works to local shops. His son, William Henry van Erp was born in 1900.
In 1908, he opened the Art Copper Shop in Oakland, and began exhibiting his work at local Arts and Crafts exhibitions. In 1909, he exhibited more than two dozen prices at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, a World's Fair held in Seattle, Washington. His shop won a gold medal.
In 1910, he moved his shop to San Francisco, and entered into a partnership with D'Arcy Gaw, who had attended the Art Institute of Chicago. Although their partnership lasted less than a year, she exerted a strong influence on van Erp's design sensibility. In 1915, van Erp exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a World's Fair held in San Francisco. During World War I, van Erp significantly reduced his artisan work, and returned to employment at Union Iron Works to do war related production.
His career continued until his retirement in 1929. He died in Fairfax, California, on July 18, 1933. His wife, Mary van Erp died four hours later. His son, William van Erp continued to operate the shop until 1977, when he died.
Legacy
Kenneth Trapp, curator for decorative arts at the Oakland Museum of California summarized van Erp's legacy as follows: "Although most famous for his lamps, many of which are commanding in size and stunning in design, van Erp produced other pieces of such exceptional beauty and strength as to stand unrivaled in American metalwork."
"Dirk van Erp is widely considered the most important metalsmith of the Arts and Crafts movement"
On July 28, 2007 appraiser David Rago discussed a Dirk van Erp lamp on a segment of Antiques Roadshow filmed in Louisville, Kentucky. The value was estimated at US $40,000 to $50,000.
- Kenneth R. Trapp, editor, The arts and Crafts Movement in California: Living the Good Life. (New York, Abbeville Press, 1993) pages 291 - 292. ISBN 1-55859-393-4
- Kenneth R. Trapp, editor, The arts and Crafts Movement in California: Living the Good Life. Page 149 (New York, Abbeville Press, 1993). ISBN 1-55859-393-4
- Rago, David, Suzanne Sliker, and David Rudd, The Arts & Crafts Collector's Guide. (Salt Lake City, Utah , Gibbs Smith, 2005). ISBN 1586850520
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200704A44.html