Age, Biography and Wiki

Ans Westra (Anna Jacoba Westra) was born on 28 April, 1936 in Leiden, Netherlands, is a New Zealand photographer (1936–2023). Discover Ans Westra's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is she in this year and how she spends money? Also learn how she earned most of networth at the age of 86 years old?

Popular As Anna Jacoba Westra
Occupation N/A
Age 86 years old
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Born 28 April, 1936
Birthday 28 April
Birthplace Leiden, Netherlands
Date of death 26 February, 2023
Died Place Wellington, New Zealand
Nationality New Zealand

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 28 April. She is a member of famous photographer with the age 86 years old group.

Ans Westra Height, Weight & Measurements

At 86 years old, Ans Westra height not available right now. We will update Ans Westra's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
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Dating & Relationship status

She is currently single. She is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about She's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, She has no children.

Family
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Ans Westra Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Ans Westra worth at the age of 86 years old? Ans Westra’s income source is mostly from being a successful photographer. She is from New Zealand. We have estimated Ans Westra's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income photographer

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Timeline

1936

Anna Jacoba Westra (28 April 1936 – 26 February 2023), known as Ans Westra, was a Dutch-born New Zealand photographer, well known for her depictions of Māori life in the 20th century.

Westra was born in 1936 in Leiden, Netherlands, the only child of Pieter Hein Westra and Hendrika Christina van Doorn.

1953

In 1953, Westra moved to Rotterdam and began study at the Industrieschool voor Meisjes.

1956

In 1956 she was inspired by a visit to the international exhibition The Family of Man in Amsterdam, together with the 1955 book by Johan van der Keuken, Wij Zijn 17 (We Are Seventeen) which depicted the lives of post-war Dutch teenagers.

She began saving money so that she could purchase a high-end Rolleiflex camera, which she used for many years after.

1957

She graduated in 1957 with a diploma in arts and craft teaching, specialising in artistic needlework, and the same year, she left the Netherlands for New Zealand.

In 1957, age 21, Westra travelled to New Zealand to visit her father who had already moved to the country.

1958

In 1958, Westra moved to Wellington, where she joined the Wellington Camera Club and worked in various local photographic studios.

1960

In 1960, Westra received international recognition winning a prize from the UK Photography magazine for her work entitled Assignment No. 2.

That same year Westra had her first photograph published in New Zealand on the cover of Te Ao Hou / The New World, a magazine published by the Department of Maori Affairs.

1962

In 1962 she began working as a full-time, freelance documentary photographer.

Much of her early work was for the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education and Te Ao Hou.

1963

She became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1963.

Westra first encountered photography as a teenager through her stepfather.

She stayed in Auckland and worked for eight months at Crown Lynn Potteries; she later returned to take photographs of the factory in 1963.

1964

Her prominence as an artist was amplified by her controversial 1964 children's book Washday at the Pa.

Westra lived with rural Māori for five months, photographing typical daily life, and in 1964 her school bulletin Washday at the Pa was published by the school publications section of the Department of Education and distributed to primary school classrooms throughout New Zealand.

The book documents a large Māori family at their rural home in Ruatoria.

The family was given the fictitious name "Wereta", and listed as living "near Taihape" to protect their identities.

The living conditions of the family were seen as poor and their rural cottage rundown.

Concerns were raised, including by the Māori Women's Welfare League, that the depiction of the Weretas would lead readers—impressionable children—to see the family as representative of all Māori.

The league requested its withdrawal from schools, and soon after its release the journal was withdrawn by order of the Minister of Education at the request of the league.

Later in 1964 Washday at the Pa was republished privately by the Caxton Press, with 20 additional photographs.

1967

In 1967 Maori was published with photography by Westra and text by James Ritchie.

1972

In 1972 Notes on the Country I Live In was published as the result of a project Westra undertook with support from the QEII Arts Council to photograph the people of New Zealand.

The book includes text by James K. Baxter and Tim Shadbolt.

1972 was also the year of Westra's first solo exhibition, which was held at the Dowse Art Gallery.

1978

On 21 June 1978 she documented the final day of the intervention art Vacant Lot of Cabbages and in 1979 she photographed the Ben Burn Park Concerts that were part of Summer City (Wellington).

1980

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Westra undertook several artist-in-residences including at the Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt (1988–89), the Tylee Cottage Residency, Wanganui (1993) and in 1996, she was awarded the inaugural Southland Art Foundation Artist in Residence award by Southland Art Foundation, Southern Institute of Technology, Southland Museum and Art Gallery and Creative New Zealand.

1982

In 1982 an archive of Westra's negatives was established at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.

1998

In 1998 Westra was artist-in-residence at the Otago School of Fine Arts, Otago Polytechnic.

2006

In 2006 Westra was the subject of a 71 minute documentary directed by Luit Bieringa.

Ans Westra: Private Journeys / Public Signposts played at the NZ International Film Festival and was nominated for a Qantas Media Award.

Bieringa who like Westra emigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands was commissioned by TVNZ to produce a 46 minute version of the documentary for TV One’s Artsville series.

2009

Westra's 2009 book and exhibition, The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand features her own photographs, with text by New Zealand writer Adrienne Jansen.

The book's interviews and photographs of 37 individuals give insights into the lives of Asian Muslims in New Zealand.

2011

Washday at the Pa was reissued in 2011 by Suite Publishing to include other photos of the same family taken in 1998.

2013

In May 2013, Suite Publishing released Westra's publication: Our Future: Ngā Tau ki Muri, which includes 137 often damning photographs of the New Zealand landscape, with text contributions from Hone Tuwhare, Russel Norman, Brian Turner, David Eggleton and David Lange.

Between February 2013 and April 2014, Westra undertook her Full Circle Tour to revisit centres where she had been particularly active during her career.

2016

An article written by academics in Auckland in 2016 about this event states: "In a way the book, and the feelings it inspired, appealed strongly to Pākehā ideas of Māori, more so than it reflected some important truth about Māori themselves."