Early Life, Family and Training Dick Stapel was born on 10 August 1942 in The Hague, Netherlands. He grew up in an environment shaped by physical form and structure, as his father, Frits Stapel, worked as a sculptor. This familial connection to three-dimensional art provided a foundational context for his later development as a painter. His upbringing in The Hague placed him at the center of a specific Dutch artistic tradition. His f…