Katrine Harries - South African Artist, Graphics, Paintings 1914 - 1978

Katrine Harries was born in Berlin, Germany 1914 - 1978

Art Education
- 1933 – 1938 Vereinigte Staatsschulen für Freie und Angewandte Kunst, Berlin.

Short Artist Biography
- Daughter of two artists; her father was killed in action on the Western Front two weeks before her birth.
- 1930 Katrine Harries was admitted to a preparatory art school in Berlin on recommendation of Max Pechstein.
- 1939 Katrine Harries left Nazi Germany with her mother to settle in South Africa; worked in Cape Town; war years difficult, but assisted by art critic Bernard Lewis to find work as an illustrator; worked on the magazines, “Sarie Marais” and “Die Huisgenoot”; illustrated the first of many books, among them : “Cape Country” – African Bookman 1946; “Stories van Rivierplaas” – Nasionale Pers 1955; “Traditional Cooking of the Cape Malays” – Balkema 1957; “Dwaalstories” – by Eugene Marais, 1959. Some work in oil during her earlier career, discontinued during 1940’s.
- 1950 Katrine Harries appointed part-time lecturer in etching and lithography at Michaelis School, Cape Town; subsequently created the Department of Typography; fulltime lecturer from 1960.
- 1952 Won Cape Tercentenary Award for lithography.
- 1964 Katrine Harries received the South African Library Association’s Hoogenhout Award for the best-illustrated children’s book; three times thereafter, in 1969, 1974 and 1977; after the last award just prior to her death, the name of the Prize was changed to “The Katrine Harries Award”.
- 1966 She illustrated the limited edition of “Raka” by Van Wyk Louw (lithographs).
- 1968 Her first colour-illustrations appeared in “Die Mooiste Afrikaanse Sprokies” by PW Grobbelaar, Human & Rousseay. Studio work included dry point, lithography and charcoal drawing; completed numerous portraits, not generally know about until after her death.
- 1973 Katrine Harries awarded the South African Akademie Medal of Honour for Graphic Art.
- 1977 Retired prematurely from Michaelis School, owing to illness. Died two months later.
- 1978 Subject of a monograph, “Katrine Harries” by J due P Scholz.

Art Exhibitions
- 1952 Van Riebeeck Tercent Art Exhibition, Cape Town.
- 1956 First Quad of South African Art (won prize for design of catalogue cover).
- 1957 Soa Paulo Bien (graphic); Contemporary Colour Lithograph, Cincinnati, United States of America.
- 1960 Second Quad of South African Art; South African Graphic Art Exhibition in Yugoslavia.
- 1964 Venice Bienalle (graphic).
- 1966 Republic Fest Exhibition, Pretoria.
- 1971 Republic Fest Exhibition.
- 1979 Retrospectove Art Exhibition, South African National Art Gallery, Pretoria Art Museum, Johannesburg Art Gallery; “South African Printmakers”, South African National Art Gallery.

Public Art collections
South African National Art Gallery, Cape Town; Durban Art Gallery; William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley; Hester Rupert Museum, GR; UNISA; Johannesburg Art Gallery; Ann Bryant Art Gallery, East London; Pretoria Art Museum; Sandton Munic Collec.

Source
Berman, E. 1994. Art & Artists of South Africa . Southern Book Publishers.

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