Thelma Gutsche (7 January 1915 – 5 November 1984) was a South African filmmaker, film historian, writer, and arts patron, referred to as "South Africa's most accomplished early cinema historian" by a later film scholar.
Early life and education
Thelma Gutsche was born at
Somerset West
Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...
, Cape Province, the daughter of Jesse Gutsche and Agnes Patricia Anne Mackintosh Gutsche. Her father was a factory manager. She earned degrees at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
in the Ethics, Logic, and Philosophy program.
In 1946 she completed her doctoral studies in social history, with a dissertation titled ''The History and Social Significance of Motion Pictures in South Africa 1895 - 1940''. Her dissertation was later published as a book, about which one scholar said, "As a detailed historical account of cinema up to 1940, there is nothing to rival it."
Career
Before and during her doctoral program Gutsche wrote film reviews for ''The Forum'' and the ''Cape Times'' newspapers. During World War II and afterward, she wrote and directed documentaries and instructional films for the South African government. From 1947 to 1959 she was head of Educational and Information Service of African Consolidated Films Ltd. She was also joint director of Silver Leaf Books, which published the first book of short stories by
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...
during her tenure.
Gutsche was a founding member and life president of the Association of Friends of the
Johannesburg Art Gallery
The Johannesburg Art Gallery is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest gallery on the continent with a collection that is larger than that of the Iziko South African National Gallery i ...
, and in 1959 a founding member of the
Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the last commander and first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony, the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.
Background
Simon was the son of Adriaan van der Steland Maria Lievens ...
Foundation (a historic preservation foundation). She was a member of the
Africana Museum
Museum Africa or MuseuMAfricA (formerly known as the Africana Museum) is an historical museum in Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa.
History
The museum was established in 1933, when the Johannesburg Public Library bought a large quantity of ...
Advisory Committee beginning in 1956, and a member of the Consultative Committee of the
Bensusan Museum of Photography. She served a term as president of the National Council of Women in South Africa.
Works
Gutsche wrote several books, including
* with Patricia Knox
*, a biography of
Florence Phillips, winner of the 1966
Central News Agency Literary Award The Central News Agency Literary Award (CNA Literary Award, CNA Prize) was a major annual literary award in South Africa. It was named for the CNA chain of bookstores. Founded by Phillip Stein, it recognised works in prose and poetry, and in both t ...
.
*
*
*, a biography of church architect
Sophy Gray
Sophy Gray or Sophia Gray (5 January 1814 – 27 April 1871), was a diocesan administrator, artist, architect, horsewoman and the wife of Cape Town bishop Robert Gray. Born at Easington in Yorkshire, the 5th daughter of county squire Richar ...
)
*
*
*, a biography of Sir
Arnold Theiler
Sir Arnold Theiler KCMG (26 March 1867 – 24 July 1936) Pour le Mérite is considered to be the father of veterinary science in South Africa. He was born in Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland. He received his higher education, and later qu ...
Personal life
Gutsche died in 1984, from
emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...
, aged 69 years, in
Montagu, Western Cape
Montagu is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, about from Cape Town in the Western Little Karoo. It is named after former secretary of the Cape Colony, John Montagu, but was once known as Agter Cogman's Kloof, Cogman's Kloof lin ...
. Her papers are archived at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
.
References
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutsche, Thelma
1915 births
1984 deaths
Film historians
South African writers
University of Cape Town alumni