Jean Welz - South African Artist, Paintings, Oil Paintings 1900 - 1975

Jean Welz was born in Salzburg, Austria 1900 - 1975

Art Education
Jean Welz studied art at Realschule, Salzburg; architecture under Oskar Strnad and Josef Hoffman, Vienna.

Short Artist Biography
- 1925 Jean Welz moved to Paris where he worked in the architectural studio of Malet Stevens.
- 1935 ill health made Jean Welz decide to emigrate to South Africa.
- 1936 to 1938 Worked in the Department of Architecture, University of Wits; tuberculosis led him to settle in the dry climate of the Karoo.
- 1938 to 1941 Jean Welz lived on a farm, operated a tearoom on the mountain-pass; began to paint seriously.
- 1943 to 1947 First Principal of the newly established Hugo Naude Art Centre, Worcester; member of the New Group.
- 1947 Jean Welz was awarded Silver Medal of South African Academy; by the end of the decade he had become one of South Africa's most admired and sought after artists.
- 1950 Lived in relative seclusion, exhibiting his paintings infrequently; most of the period he commanded higher prices for his paintings than any other local living artist; Jean Welz's style developed during the fifties toward the brink of non-figuration.
- 1952 Jean Welz awarded Bursary of Cape Tercent Foundation.
- 1960 Designed Little Theatre, Worcester.
- 1968 Jean Welz entered hospital with recurrence of his earlier illness.
- 1969 Awarded Medal of Honour for Painting by South African Akademie; moved to Rondebosch, Cape Town; lived there until his death in 1975.

Art Exhibitions
- 1942 First one-man exhibition, Cape Town.
- 1942 onwards: South African Academy New Group Art Exhibitions.
- 1948 Overseas exhibition of South African Art, Tate Gallery.
- 1952 Van Riebeeck Tercent Exhibition, Cape Town; Venice Bienalle.
- 1953 Rhodes Centenary Exhibition.
- 1957 Sao Paulo Bienalle.
- 1966 Republic Fest Exhibition, Pretoria.
- 1970 Prestige Retrospective Exhibition, South African National Art Gallery and Johannesburg Art Gallery.

Public Art Collections
South African National Art Gallery; Johannesburg Art Gallery; Pretoria Art Museum; William Humphreys Art Gallery; King George VI Art Gallery; Durban Art Gallery; Hester Rupert Art Museum; University of Wits; Rembrandt Art Foundation; Sandton Municipal Collection; Ann Bryant Art Gallery; UNISA, RAU, Pietersburg Collection.

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

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