The Foundation
The Frauke and Willem de Looper Foundation was created in 2018 by a bequest from Frauke de Looper to honor her late husband, Willem de Looper, by preserving, curating, exhibiting and contributing to the appreciation of his art. The de Looper Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, directed by John Crigler, Jack Rasmussen, Sarah Tanguy, and Benjamin Forgey (Emeritus). It is administered by Stephanie Fitzpatrick, Executive Director.
The de Looper Foundation is located at: 2219 California Street, NW, Suite 42, Washington DC 20008. Phone: 202.450.4968
Staff Biographies
John Crigler, Chair
As predicted by the Strong Vocational Aptitude Test John Crigler took when he arrived at Wesleyan, he has had three careers: as farmer, teacher, and lawyer. He grew up on a small dairy farm in Bell Buckle Tennessee; taught 19th and 20th Century American literature at Williams College after earning a PhD from Yale; and received a JD from Georgetown to represent noncommercial radio and tv clients, Native American Tribes, writers, musicians and independent producers. His legal publications include: Why Sparky Can’t Bark, Decency Redux, The Revolution Will Not Be Broadcast, Suing the Messenger, Trail Marks for Royalties, The Public Radio Legal Handbook, and Is That a Sponsor in Your Bed? He has served on the boards of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, the Association of Independents in Radio, and the Public Media Company. He and his wife, Arlene, were long-time friends of Frauke and Willem de Looper and admirers of Willem’s art.
Stephanie Fitzpatrick
Executive Director
Stephanie Fitzpatrick discovered Willem de Looper’s painting in the late 1990s while conducting an inventory of The Washington Post Company’s art collection. It contained a number of de Looper works, in various media, spanning several periods of his career. After Willem died in 2009, Fitzpatrick was hired by Frauke de Looper, the artist’s widow, to organize and catalog over 700 paintings and works on paper contained in the de Looper estate.
After graduating with a BA in Studio Art from Sweet Briar College, Fitzpatrick served as Assistant Registrar at The Guggenheim Museum in New York. She moved to Washington to help found the National Museum of Women in the Arts, where she set up the original collection records and served as Registrar for nine years. She subsequently began a freelance consulting career, working with public and private collections: upgrading art databases, organizing exhibitions, supervising installations, and initiating conservation programs. In addition to The Washington Post, she has worked with DC-based collectors, including Heather and Tony Podesta, the Cultural Center at the Inter-American Development Bank and Arlington County’s Public Art Program.
Jack Rasmussen
Board Member
Jack Rasmussen earned his BA in Art from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, before completing an MFA in Painting, MA in Arts Management, and MA and PhD in Anthropology at American University. He worked in the Education Department of the National Gallery of Art and became Assistant Director of the Washington Project for the Arts when it opened in 1975. He left this position to open the Jack Rasmussen Gallery, helped launch Rockville Arts Place (VisArts), served ten years as Executive Director of Maryland Art Place, and three years as Executive Director of di Rosa in Napa, California. Rasmussen has been Director and Curator of the American University Museum since it opened in 2005, where he curated a retrospective of Willem de Looper in 2008. He currently serves on the board of the Maryland State Arts Council.
Sarah Tanguy
Board Member
Sarah Tanguy is an independent curator and arts writer based in Washington, DC. The daughter of a US diplomat, she holds a BA in Fine Arts from Georgetown University, and a MA in Art History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. After interning at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Tanguy worked at the National Gallery, the International Exhibitions Foundation, The Tremaine Collection, the International Sculpture Center, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, The Hechinger Collection, and the Office of Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State, where she curated temporary exhibitions and permanent collections for US diplomatic facilities overseas. Under her leadership, several of de Looper’s paintings were featured at the ambassadorial residence and the chancery in The Netherlands.
A strong believer in hands-on collaboration and in the power of art to connect with our lived experience, she enjoys exploring the intersection of art with such topics as food, tools, books, and science. Recent projects include Reveal: The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery and Twist-Layer-Pour, both at the American University Art Museum, and TRACES at The Kreeger Museum. In addition to exhibition-related essays, she contributes to Sculpture and Metalsmith, among other publications.