CECIL SKOTNES *** Rare *** Circle of IRMA STERN

CECIL SKOTNES

200 x 280 pencil from Sketchbook

signed

He was born in East London in 1926, studied drawing in Florence, Italy, the Witwatersrand Technical Art School and then the University of the Witwatersrand.He was appointed cultural officer in charge of the influential Polly Street Art Centre in 1952.Skotnes was a founder member of the Amadlozi Group in 1961.In 1979 he moved to Cape Town, where he lived until his death.In 2003 he was awarded the Order of the Ikhamanga (Gold) by the South African government for his contribution to South African art.He died on the 4th April 2009 at the age of 82.Cecil Skotnes was born in 1926 in East London, South African. His father, Edwin Andor Eilertsen Skotnes was Norwegian, born in Ankenes in 1888. As a young man, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor, and travelled to Canada where he met Cecil’s mother Florence Kendall who was serving in the Salvation Army. They married and began a life as missionaries in Africa, first along the east coast and later settling in South Africa. Cecil was their fourth child. He remembers drawing as a young boy, and being commended at school for his talent and creativity. He also remembers the freedom of playing in the streets and countryside, of taking a donkey to the rivers on the outskirts of Johannesburg, of fishing and exploring the old artesian wells and stone ruins of iron-age settlements. He remembers this highveld landscape as a rough place inscribed and abstracted with traces of the past. He recalls the quality of light and space and the hot African sun – a place that was to make a powerful impression on the development of his creative style.After finishing school, Cecil worked for some months in a draughtsman’s office, leaving this in 1944 to join the South African forces in Europe. He fought in Egypt and in Italy, and there again, the landscape of the desert and of the Apennines with their decimated buildings on the top of hills and the ruins of bombardment was to contribute to his developing sensitivity to light and space and place. At the end of the war, Cecil spent time in Florence, drawn to the place in a way that made it almost impossible for him to return home. Here he saw the work of Masaccio, Giotto and Donatello – artists whose work was to become a major inspiration to him. Europe was, however, starkly contrasting to Africa. Colour and shape was different as was the experience of time and place. In Europe history is, in one sense, constantly on display; in South Africa, much is hidden beneath the surface. In Europe there is a sense of human closeness, even claustrophobia; in South Africa space is almost endless. He was fascinated by this closeness, by the rich heritage of Greek mythology and Greek and Roman architecture and art. He was nourished by the space, its harshness and its sense of wild mystery.I do not have provenance on this specific work other than it comes from a large collection with provenance.These Paintings and antiques come from collectors who have been collecting SA and Irish Art for over 25years.This large collection of top artists includes many items purchased at both local and international auctions.Some of the works are being sold on behalf of other people, and the sale price that you pay will include any commissions fees charges or other sundry costs that they may apply.....so what you bid is what you pay !!! Many of the works include items that have provenances from Sothebys ,Bonhams, Major and Minor estate sales, and letters and receipts from many previous owners. ,so you are bidding on that basis, as not all have this. You are welcome to enquire regarding individual pieces if you like, and you must do this prior to your bid being placed, because once you bid, you are accepting this as a condition of the sale, should you be the successful bidder. All of the Art that I am advertising has either been personally purchased by myself, either at auctions land or on line, or acquired at sales or taken on consignment .All work is entered in the opinion of the owner, as being from the artist listed as signed on the piece ,but may also be deemed in the style of that artist, attributed to that artist or in the manner of the artist. It is being sold as purchased, acquired, consigned, inherited and you are accepting it as this , and that it is sold to you As IS.