Many of us had a teddy bear in our childhood. One of those bears that you take everywhere with you as a child, as if it were your best friend. Often it is given a name, such as Bear or Teddy, so that it becomes even more of a person. It is therefore not surprising that the teddy bear is seen as an important transition object in psychology: the bear supports the child in exploring the world.

Helena van der Kraan (1940-2020) has photographed more than two hundred teddy bears in recent years. She portrays them in the same way that she captures people. As models, the bears show themselves to be proud and self-assured or frightened and melancholy, but always with dignity. Approximately one hundred photo portraits of bears will be on display in the Fotomuseum Den Haag.