Sculptor Johanna Hendrika (known as Hank, Hanke, Anke) Hans (The Hague, 1919 - Rotterdam, 2015) was trained at the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam before the war. In 1940 she moved to Amsterdam, where she attended the Rijksacademie and was taught by sculptor Jan Bronner. In 1945 she returned to the port city, where she took her best-known image Stronger through combat made. The 3,5 meter high marble work stands in the hall of the city hall on the Coolsingel and is a gift from Queen Wilhelmina to the city of Rotterdam. During the reconstruction period, Hans also worked on many commissions for architects such as Cornelis (Kees) Elffers and Joost Boks on facade stones and reliefs. Outside of Rotterdam, she also produced various works of art for schools and made medals and tokens for, for example, the Rotterdam Art Foundation and the Book Week. Hank Hans lived in Kralingen and was still active as an artist until a ripe old age. She painted and made watercolors. Her oeuvre focuses on people, but nature is also an important source of inspiration.
