Cecil Skotnes, f. 1926

CECIL SKOTNES, f. 1926 Sydafrika. Träsnitt. Signerad C. Skotnes, -74. Nr. 58/100. Motivmått:40x55,5cm. (70x82cm). Cecil Skotnes was born in East London in 1926. After studying drawing under Heinrich Steiner in Florence he enrolled at the Witwatersrand Technical Art School and from 1947 to 1950 studied at the University of the Witwatersrand where his teachers included Willem Hendrikz, Douglas Portway and Charles Argent. In 1952 he was appointed cultural officer in charge of the Polly Street Art Centre, the institution virtually synonymous with Skotnes and which was particularly influential in the development of an urban black art. The Amadlozi Group was formed in 1961 and the members comprised Skotnes, Guiseppe Cattaneo, Cecily Sash, Sydney Kumalo and Edoardo Villa - the name chosen by Skotnes means "Spirit of our Ancestors". Works by members of this group manifested an essentially African influence. In 1965 Skotnes was invited to exhibit at the Grosvenor Gallery in London and since