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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Concurrent Resolution 24
Sponsored by Representative BOWMAN
Whereas Hendrik Pieter “Henk” Pander was born on November 21, 1937, in Haarlem, the
Netherlands, the oldest of 10 children of Hendrica Smedes Pander and Jacob Pander; and
Whereas Henk Pander enthusiastically followed in the footsteps of his artist father, and at a
young age he was already regarded as a rising star in the Dutch art world; and
Whereas Henk Pander trained for five years at the prestigious Rijksakademie in Amsterdam,
where he won several commissions and prizes; and
Whereas a crucial portion of Henk Pander’s childhood was lived during the five-year occupation
of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany during World War II, which meant that Henk Pander had to
grow up far too fast in the face of trauma and inhumanity; and
Whereas much of Henk Pander’s art for the rest of his life drew on his experiences during the
war and occupation, including “Raid Over Haarlem (The Father),” which portrays the terror of a
bombing air raid, and “The Floor,” which depicts two Jewish youths hiding beneath floorboards as
German soldiers search the room above them; and
Whereas in 1965, following the birth of his first son, Henk Pander moved to Portland, Oregon,
and his passion for family kept him in Oregon with his sons Jacob and Arnold; and
Whereas being an immigrant to the United States, Henk Pander often felt like an outsider, an
identity that he brought to his work; and
Whereas Henk Pander struck out fiercely on his own artistic path, largely ignoring trends and
pursuing his unique vision; and
Whereas Henk Pander collaborated frequently with performing artists, designing sets for
Portland’s Storefront Theatre and other theater companies and dance groups; and
Whereas when his close friend Ric Young was dying of AIDS, Henk Pander created large, re-
markable and loving end-of-life portraits of Young; and
Whereas Henk Pander became, despite his reservations, an important player in the art world in
Portland and Oregon, and he was a counterbalance to that art scene’s regional inclinations even
as he helped to reshape them; and
Whereas Henk Pander’s work was described by art critic Bob Hicks as a fusion of “the long
tradition of Dutch art with the frontier edge of the Pacific Northwest and a keen outsider’s feeling
for the American psyche”; and
Whereas Henk Pander was attracted by the grandeur of the Pacific Northwest’s landscapes—so
different from his native Netherlands—which featured in many of his works, often involving scenes
of destruction, such as the eruption of Mount St. Helens or the wreck of the New Carissa off the
Oregon coast; and
Whereas Henk Pander’s works are in many prestigious collections around the world, including
the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Museum Henriette Polak (Zutphen, the Netherlands), City of
Amsterdam, City of Portland, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena), Portland Art Museum, Frye Art
Museum (Seattle), Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (University of Oregon) and Hallie Ford Museum
of Art (Willamette University); and
Whereas a 50-year retrospective exhibition of Henk Pander’s work was shown at the Hallie Ford
Museum of Art in 2011; and
Enrolled House Concurrent Resolution 24 (HCR 24-INTRO) Page 1
Whereas Henk Pander’s public commissions are found in numerous locations across the state,
including Oregon State University, the Oregon Public Safety Academy and the Portland Center for
the Visual Arts; and
Whereas Henk Pander’s drawing books, papers and related materials are housed in the Pacific
Northwest Artists Archive at the Mark O. Hatfield Library of Willamette University; and
Whereas the Rijksmuseum, which houses the work of such world-renowned artists as Rembrandt
and Johannes Vermeer, named Henk Pander’s painting “New World,” which depicts a field of
abandoned fighter planes, as one of the 100 greatest works on paper in its collections; and
Whereas Henk Pander’s portraits of Oregon Governors Tom McCall and John Kitzhaber, which
hang in the State Capitol in Salem, are landmarks of Oregon history and culture; and
Whereas Henk Pander died on April 7, 2023, at the age of 85; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
That we, the members of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly, commemorate the remarkable
life of Hendrik Pieter “Henk” Pander, and we recognize his monumental artistic and cultural legacy
in the State of Oregon; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of this resolution shall be presented to the family of Henk Pander as an
expression of our sympathy and condolences.
Adopted by House April 24, 2025
Timothy G. Sekerak, Chief Clerk of House
Julie Fahey, Speaker of House
Adopted by Senate June 11, 2025
Rob Wagner, President of Senate
Enrolled House Concurrent Resolution 24 (HCR 24-INTRO) Page 2