Ronald Harrison (18 March 1940 – 28 June 2011) was a South African artist most well known for his thought provoking 1962 painting ''Black Christ''.

Life

Harrison was born on 18 March 1940 to Jeanette and William Harrison in

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

and he always showed a talent for art. At the age of eight he was on his father's shoulders when the crowd he was in received a baton charge from the local police who objected to their politics. He joined

Alexander Sinton Secondary School Alexander Sinton Secondary School, also known as Alexander Sinton High School, is an English-medium school in Athlone, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The school is located in the Cape Flats, an area designated as non-white under the Grou ...

in thlone of Cape Town in 1954 where he was taught painting. In 1962, during

South Africa's South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era, his most famous work, ''Black Christ'', was unveiled at St Luke's Church in the

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

suburb of Salt River. It depicted

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

leader

Chief Albert Luthuli Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967. Luthuli was ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

crucified, flanked by two Roman centurions, then National Party prime minister

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of ''Die Transvaler'' newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect ...

and justice minister

John Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presiden ...

. As a result, he was arrested and tortured by the security police for seven days. The painting was smuggled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

after it was banned in South Africa. ''Black Christ'' toured Europe in order to raise funds for the International Defence and Aid Fund. A fund established in 1956 by John Collins, a priest from London, that covered the legal expenses of those accused of treason by the apartheid regime. The painting was returned in 1997. ''Black Christ'' is currently stored at the

South African National Gallery The Iziko South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. It became part of the Iziko collection of museums – as managed by the Department of Arts and Culture – in 2001. It then became an agen ...

and a replica is on display at the offices of the

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

Foundation. Harrison had been treated for cancer in 2010 and had recovered. He died of a heart-attack on 28 June 2011 at his niece's house in

Mitchell's Plain Mitchells Plain is a large Township (South Africa), township located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains ...

.City Artist Dies aged 71
Cape Times The church service was held in St Luke's Church in Salt River, Cape Town, where ''Black Christ'' was first exhibited.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Ronald South African painters South African male painters Artists from Cape Town 2011 deaths 1940 births