Cecily Sash | |
---|---|
Born | 1924/1925 Delmas, Transvaal, Union of South Africa |
Died | 2019 Britain |
Nationality | South African |
Education | Witwatersrand Technical College Art School, Chelsea College of Arts, Camberwell College of Art, University of Witwatersrand |
Occupation | Artist |
Cecily Sash (1924/1925 – 2019)[1][2] was a South African artist, designer, and teacher.[3] She taught design at the University of the Witwatersrand for more than 20 years.[4]
Cecily Sash was born in 1924 or 1925 in Delmas, a small town in Transvaal, Union of South Africa to parents Bessie (née Liverman) and Max Sash.[3][5]
From 1943 to 1946, she studied art at Witwatersrand Technical College Art School in Johannesburg, studying under Maurice van Essche.[1][4] Followed by study at Chelsea Polytechnic (now Chelsea College of Arts) in London, under Henry Moore; and Camberwell School of Art (now Camberwell College of Art) with Victor Pasmore.[3][4] In 1954, Sash received her fine arts degree from University of Witwatersrand.[4]
After graduation she briefly taught at Jeppe Girls’ High School in Johannesburg.[3] Shortly after she started teaching at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she remained until the 1970s.[4] In 1965, she was awarded an Oppenheimer grant in order to further study arts education in Britain and the United States.[4] In 1974, she moved to Britain, where she settled in the Welsh Marches.[4]
Sash was primarily a painter, but also worked in mosaic and tapestries.[4] Her paintings had different focus periods including one of abstraction, and one of environmental focus.[4] Sash painted many South African murals that were commissioned, including at the Transvaal provincial administration building in Pretoria; the University of the Witwatersrand; and the Transvaal Institute of Architects.[3]
She was part of the Amadlozi Group founded in 1961, which included Cecil Skotnes, Edoardo Villa, Guiseppe Cattaneo, and Sydney Kumalo.[6] The name “Amadlozi” (Zulu: ancestors) was used for a conscious appropriation of African sculptural traditions. In 1965, Sash was included in the seminal South Africa artists’ exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery in London.[3]
Sash died in 2019, at the age of 94.[3]