Bernardus Hermannus David (Ben) Walrecht was born on 6 May 1911 in Groningen. After the tragic loss of both parents in a fire in 1939, he moved to Amsterdam to live with family. He later returned to Groningen to study arts and crafts at the Minerva Academy. After his studies, he started his own advertising agency and worked as a commercial designer.
In 1936, Walrecht joined the Groningen artists' association De Ploeg. His impressionistic paintings, characterised by a loose touch and vibrant colours, fitted in well with the work of his fellow members. However, he developed his own style and focused mainly on painting cityscapes of Groningen, landscapes and portraits. He also made linoleum cuts, a technique that was considered an expressive medium within De Ploeg.
Walrecht had a passion for water and boats. He lived on his ship, the 'Catharina', with which he sailed through Friesland in the summers with fellow artists George Martens and Johan Dijkstra and also visited Amsterdam. After the Second World War he focused more on sculpture and worked with various materials such as stone, wood, clay, bronze and concrete. Although he exhibited with De Ploeg until 1952, his works were mainly exhibited outside Groningen after the war, including in Amsterdam, Enkhuizen and Loosdrecht.
Ben Walrecht died on 14 September 1980 in Hilversum. His work is included in the collections of the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen and the Groninger Museum.
