NETHERLANDS AMERICA

   INSTITUTE LIMBURG

THE THREE HANDS 

(by Pierre Paul -Pépé- Grégoire)

On the Dutch-American Friendship day at April 19, 1990 the board NAIL made a pledge to allocate the major portion of any positive balance of the proceeds to a tangible and lasting tribute to the Dutch-American friendship. This pledge was turned into a beautiful work of art called the Three Hands from the hand of sculptor Pé Pé Gregoire at the Amerika Plein in front of the city Hall Margraten.

The work of art is a bronze statue is a composition of three hands touching one another with which a an expression of friendship is symbolized. The unveiling of the statue was on December 1, 1991 and was attenden by more than 120 guests an NAIL members.    

BIOGRAPHY:

Pépé Grégoire was born into an artist family; his father Paul was a sculptor and his grandfather Jan was a painter and his older sister Hélène a painter. He studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (1968-1974), where he was taught by his father Paul, Piet Esser and Theresia van der Pant, among others. Grégoire won the Buys van Hultenprijs in 1974 and the Jan Hamdorffprijs in 1985 for his work. He makes large works for public space (2 to 8 meters high). He also commissioned a number of bronze portraits, including of Queen Beatrix (1982) and August Willemsen (1995). He also designed the VSCD Prize de Colombina, a prize in the form of a bronze statuette from the Association of Theater and Concertgebouw Directors (VSCD) for the best supporting actress of the Dutch theater season.