Lita de Ranitz explained

Lita de Ranitz
Other Names:W.E.E. Tholen-De Ranitz
Birth Name:Willemine Elisabeth Edzardine de Ranitz
Birth Date:4 March 1876
Birth Place:The Hague
Death Date:21 July 1960
Death Place:Amsterdam
Occupation:Art collector
Known For:Dollhouse collection
Spouse(S):Willem Bastiaan Tholen (m. 1919)

Willemine Elisabeth Edzardine (Lita) de Ranitz (4 March 1876 – 21 July 1960) was a Dutch art collector. Her collection of dollhouses and related items is now in the Historical Museum of the Hague.

Early life

Lita de Ranitz was born in The Hague, daughter of Sebastiaan Mattheus Sigismund de Ranitz and Hermanne Louise Christine Thomassen à Thuessink van der Hoop.[1]

Dollhouse collection

Lita de Ranitz built her dollhouse collection from an early age, and continued to add to it through her travels, and by commissioning special items from craftsmen. Her husband and other artists made tiny original paintings for her collection.[2] Her younger sister Anna embroidered tiny but elaborate rugs and curtains to contribute.[3] She exhibited her most elaborate dollhouse in 1910 and 1911, and Queen Emma was among the guests attending the show.[4]

Personal life

Lita de Ranitz married Dutch artist Willem Bastiaan Tholen in 1919, as his second wife. She was widowed in 1931.[5] She died in 1960, aged 84 years, in Amsterdam. Her collection was donated to the Costume Museum in The Hague, and after 1984 it became part of the holdings of the Historical Museum of the Hague, and were the focus of a 2018 exhibit.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Groot, Marjan. Vrouwen in de vormgeving in Nederland 1880-1940. 2007. 010 Publishers. 978-90-6450-521-8. 522. nl.
  2. Web site: Scholes. Robert. Tholen, Willem Bastiaan (1860-1931). 2020-08-10. Modernist Journals Project.
  3. Book: van Lit, Robert. De poppenhuizen van jonkvrouwe Lita de Ranitz. 2018. Haags Historisch Museum. Haags Historisch Museum.. 978-90-6216-797-5. Den Haag. 1038278707.
  4. Web site: 2018-02-21. The world behind a dolls house. 2020-08-10. The Hague Online. en-US.
  5. Web site: Willem Bastiaan Tholen. 2020-08-10. Kunsthandel A.H. Bies. en-US.
  6. Web site: Den. Kate. 2018-02-21. THE WORLD BEHIND A DOLL'S HOUSE at the Historisch Museum, The Hague. 2020-08-10. ArtsTalk Magazine. en-US.