Petronella J. Ytsma

(b.1948 Haarlem, Netherlands, d. 2022 St Paul, Minnesota, USA)

A self-employed photographer for 35 years, Petronella Janneke Ytsma was an integral part of the Minnesota art community.  She documented artwork, art installations and theatre productions across a spectrum of the Minnesota art community, in addition to working on her own studio practice.

Nell was sought out for her excellence in documenting local artists’ work regardless of medium. As local painter Dan Bruggeman commented, “Everybody I know who won a Bush Award or a McKnight Fellowship, she photographed them…It was a combination of quality of the work, but also that the presentation was always so excellent” (Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 01, 2022). Among artists who were her regular clients were notable Minnesota artists such as Bruggeman, Jodi Williams, Erica Rasmussen, Carol Lee Chase, Lisa Nebenzahl, Anne de Coster, Rod Massey, Tim Harding, Megan Rye, Layl McDill, Karen Gustafson, Jane Herrick, Eleanor McGough, Anita Ophoven and Tom Maakestad to mention just a few.

Nell was an integral partner and supporter of Park Square Theater from its founding in 1987, photographing initially as a volunteer, and then serving as staff photographer for over 30 years. She regularly shot for projects and non-profit organizations such as the Phillips Gateway Project/Touchstone Plaza, Resources for Child-Caring, The Simpson House’s Art 4 Shelter event, Wishes for the Sky, the Animal Humane Society, and Neighborhood House, among others.

Nell’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the Midwest, including exhibits at St Catherine University, Dubuque Museum of Art, WARM Gallery Mentor Program, and University of Wisconsin in La Crosse.  Nell also worked and exhibited in Europe, Indonesia, and Vietnam. She received various awards, including a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, a CUE award, and Residency at the FEZ Galerie in Berlin, Germany. She held graduate degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Stockholm, Sweden.  She worked as an instructor of Photography and History of Photography at institutions such as Gustavus Adolfus (St Peter, Minnesota), the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, and Metro State University (St Paul, Minnesota).

 She and her work were the subject of a 2012 episode of TPT’s (Twin Cities Public Television) Minnesota Originals. The program focused on her Legacy Series which illuminated the multi-generational effects of Agent Orange and Dioxin used during the Vietnam War, afflicting the Vietnamese people and also Minnesota veterans returning home. Click here to see Episode.

Of her own work Nell wrote: “My art is an expression of my struggle to create even in the face of personal and collective sorrow.”  “I am not a writer…I use photography. The processes and resulting images gave …voice to some truth in the world. That’s what I wanted to do. …And once that truth is out in the world you can’t really put the genie back in the bottle. It is out there regardless of who wants to look at it or not.” Excerpt from an interview with Mica Anders, October 18, 2018)

Known for her exquisite and poetic black and white photos, Nell was a mentor, collaborator, teacher, and colleague of many in the regional art community. Upon her untimely death, her memorial service was attended by over 300 people attesting to her status as a beloved and revered member of the arts community.