Cecily Sash (1924/1925 – 2019) was a South African artist, designer, and teacher. She taught design at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

for more than 20 years.

Early life and education

Cecily Sash was born in 1924 or 1925 in Delmas, a small town in Transvaal,

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

to parents Bessie (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Liverman) and Max Sash. From 1943 to 1946, she studied art at Witwatersrand Technical College Art School in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, studying under Maurice van Essche. Followed by study at

Chelsea Polytechnic Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educati ...

(now Chelsea College of Arts) in London, under

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

; and

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgradu ...

(now Camberwell College of Art) with

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He s ...

. In 1954, Sash received her fine arts degree from University of Witwatersrand.

Career

After graduation she briefly taught at Jeppe Girls’ High School in Johannesburg. Shortly after she started teaching at the

, where she remained until the 1970s. In 1965, she was awarded an Oppenheimer grant in order to further study arts education in Britain and the United States. In 1974, she moved to Britain, where she settled in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

. Sash was primarily a painter, but also worked in mosaic and tapestries. Her paintings had different focus periods including one of abstraction, and one of environmental focus. 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. She was part of the Amadlozi Group founded in 1961, which included

Cecil Skotnes Cecil Skotnes (1 June 1926 – 4 April 2009) was a prominent South African artist. He was born in East London in 1926, studied drawing in Florence, Italy, the Witwatersrand Technical Art School and then the University of the Witwatersrand ...

, Edoardo Villa, Guiseppe Cattaneo, and

Sydney Kumalo Sydney Kumalo (1935–1988) was a South African contemporary artist and sculptor. He's best known for his work with metal and creating metal figures with his sculptures. Early life Kumalo was born in 1935 in Sophiatown, Johannesburg and raised ...

. The name “Amadlozi” () 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 The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé. The gallery proved crucial to the Aesthetic Movement because it provided ...

in London. Sash died in 2019, at the age of 94.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sash, Cecily 1924 births 2019 deaths People from Johannesburg South African painters South African women academics South African women painters 20th-century South African women artists 20th-century South African painters University of the Witwatersrand alumni Academic staff of the University of the Witwatersrand White South African people