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Fern, Emily

Born: 1881 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Died: 1953 Johannesburg

A painter of flowers, landscapes, portraits and figure studies.  Worked in oil, pastel, pencil and wash.  Produced linocuts and etchings.

Studies: 1901 Port Elizabeth School of Art under H C Leslie; 1904 pastel drawing under G S Smithard; 1913 Johannesburg School of Art; 1916 under J H Amshewitz; 1920-22 Slade School of Art, London under Henry Tonks (1862-1937), Wilson Steer (1860-1942) and etching under Frank Emmanuel, gaining a Royal Drawing Art Teachers Certificate; 1933 and 1949 at the Andre Lhote (1885-1962) Academy, Paris.

Profile: 1916 a founder member of the Johannesburg Sketch Club and the Friday Club; 1918 a member

of the SA Society of Artists.  A member of the EPSFA, the Transvaal Art Society and the Brush and Chisel Club.  Taught art privately in Johannesburg.  1926-30 and in 1934 taught at the Witwatersrand Technical College.  1931-34 lived

in Europe; 1949 revisited Europe.

Exhibitions: Participated in group exhibitions from 1914 in SA and Paris and 1931-34 in the UK; 1925 Johannesburg, first solo exhibition; 1965 Klynsmith

Represented: Africana Museum, Johannesburg; Ann Bryant Gallery, East London; SA National Gallery, Cape Town

References:  Collectors’ Guide; SAA; AMC3&6; SAP&S; BSAK 1; AASA; Historia 8 no 3, September 1963 & no 4, December 1963.

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