Nerine Desmond

Nerine Desmond
Born 1908
Constantia
Died 1993
Cape Town
Nationality South African
Education Central School of Art and Design
Known for Watercolour, oil painting
Movement New Group (South Africa)

Nerine Desmond (1908-1993) was a South African artist known particularly for her watercolour and oil paintings, especially landscapes, seascapes, and pastoral scenes showing shepherds and their animals.[1]

Biography

Desmond was born in Constantia, Cape Town, in 1908, the daughter of Nicolaas Johannes Smith, an Afrikaans clergyman, and Ivy Desmond.[2] She studied graphics at Michaelis School of Art in 1926[3] and London's Central School of Art in 1938, but was otherwise largely self-taught.[4] Desmond was politically conservative, and once refused the use of one of her works on the cover of a novel by Nadine Gordimer, stating in justification that Gordimer was "not a loyal South African." [5]

Career

Desmond exhibited in South Africa from 1935 until her death, initially both as a member of the South African Society of Artists and the rival New Group. She was influenced by a number of artists active at the time, including Gregoire Boonzaier and Freida Lock, and became particularly well known for paintings of farm-related and rural subjects. She worked from a studio in Loop Street, Cape Town and also in Hout Bay and Stellenbosch.[3] In 1949 she painted extensively in Namibia and in 1954 did the same along the east coast of Africa.[4]

A South African 1961 one-cent postage stamp carried a design by Desmond and in the same year she was elected as Fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters. She exhibited in all three Quadrennials of South African Art between 1956 and 1964, as well as at the São Paulo Biennale (graphic), Brazil in 1961.[3]

She exhibited with the Women’s International Art Club and the Royal Institute of Painters,[3] and held solo shows in Johannesburg in 1962 and Pretoria in 1970.[6] Her works are held in the following collections: Iziko South African National Gallery (Cape Town); Johannesburg Art Gallery; Pretoria City Council; Bloemfontein City Council; East London Art Gallery; SABC art collection. In addition, her works were acquired by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech, and Alfred Beit.

References

  1. ↑ "Nerine Desmond". Absolut Art Gallery website. Retrieved 27 Mar 2017.
  2. ↑ "Nerine Constantia (Smith) Desmond-Smith (1908)". Wikitree website. Retrieved 27 Mar 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Nerine Desmond" (PDF). Thoughtful Journey – a celebration of female artists. Retrieved 27 Mar 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Nerine Constantia Desmond Fial". South African History Online. Retrieved 27 Mar 2017.
  5. ↑ No Cold Kitchen: A Biography of Nadine Gordimer, p398
  6. ↑ "Nerine Desmond". Art Archives - South Africa. Retrieved 27 Mar 2017.

Bibliography

  • Suresh Roberts, Ronald (2005). No Cold Kitchen: A Biography of Nadine Gordimer. STE Publishers.
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