Cecil Skotnes (South African, 1926-2009), Abstract Portrait

Painted, carved and incised wood panel, mounted on an engraved and painted copper panel with masonite backing, signed "C SKOTNES" to the middle lower edge, presented within the original frame.

18 3/4 x 14 3/4 x 1 1/4 in.

Private Collection, Charleston, South Carolina

For a similar example by the artist: Lot 54, Bonham's London, The South African Sale, September 9, 2015.

Cecil Skotnes was a South African artist known for his painted and incised wooden panels, striking woodblock prints, public murals, tapestries, and sculpture. He pioneered a way of producing art that used earth pigments and indigenous wood to construct visual stories about African history. Skotnes was the cultural officer of the influential Polly Street Art Centre and a founding member of the Amadlozi Group. Among his best known works are The Assassination of Shaka (1973) print portfolio and his twenty-four large incised panels installed at the 1820 Settlers National Monument in Grahamstown.

Skotnes was born in East London, the son of missionaries. After finishing school, he worked for some months in a draughtsman’s office. After joining the South African forces to fight in Europe in 1944, Skotnes made his way to South Africa and completed a BAFA at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1951. His early interest in woodcutting soon translated into a focus on the block itself. Instead of cutting the block to produce prints, he began to color and shape the blocks themselves with paint and dry pigment. Skotnes also began to work in a large scale format, creating murals for several public commissions. Throughout this period, Skotnes was recognized as widely teacher and mentor as he was an artist.

Skotnes' lifelong mission was to nurture talent and encourage creativity, particularly in places where the Apartheid government had deliberately excluded people of color from artistic enrichment. His career was a rich and rewarding one from which many benefited, and his contribution to the art world has been recognized in many ways, including the conferral of honorary degrees by multiple universities as well as by the award of a gold medal by the state president for service to the country and for his contribution to the desegregation of South African art.

Overall good condition; small incised mark to the lower left blue field, possibly in the making.