1926 - 1988
Paintings + Jewellery
Kenneth Bakker in 1965
(Photo by Harry Tyler in SA Panorama, Jan. 1969 p. 41)
Brief CV
1926 born in Cape Town, studied 1949 under George de Leon and 1950-52 under Erik Laubscher at the Contemporary School of Art, Cape Town
Lived at Murdock Valley, Simonstown, most of his life. Was married to painter Bernardine Biden with whom he often exhibited jointly since 1955. He and his wife were both ailing and took their life in the Good Hope Nature Reserve in August, 1988. A tribute was written and read by James Ambrose Brown at their cremation.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1965 - Gallery 101, Johannesburg (with Bernardine Biden) (opened by Hon. Dr William Nicol) (20th September) (cat. PDF)
1970 - Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (15th November)
Selected Group Exhibitions
1960 Second Quadrennial of SA Art
1964 Third Quadrennial of SA Art
1965 Transvaal Academy (12th), Johannesburg
1966 Republic Festival Exhibition, SAAA Pretoria (May)
"Century of South African Art 1869-1969" (Eljra Solomon), 1969 Lions International Johannesburg
Included on Biennale of
1963 Sâo Paulo Biennale (Hon. Mention)
1966 Venice Biennale
1969 Sâo Paulo Biennale
Public Collections
Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria (PELMAMA Permanent Art Collection)
William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley
SA National Gallery, Cape Town
Ann Bryant Gallery, East London
Hester Rupert Museum, Graaff-Reinet
Pietersburg Art Gallery, Polokwane
University of Witwatersrand Art Galleries, Johannesburg
SANLAM Art Collection, Bellville (3 works)
Selected Images
6 Paintings at random - with further data
Selected Reviews and Publications
"Art in South Africa since 1900" (Balkema, 1962) (F.L. Alexander), pp. 21, 160
"South African Artists 1900-1962" (Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel, 1963) (Harold Jeppe), p. 4
"Transvaal Academy Johannesburg - 12th exhibition - 1965", cat. 6
"South African Breweries Art Prize 1966" cat. of touring exhibition, cat. 8
"Republic Festival May 1966" (SA Association of Arts, Pretoria), cat. 10, 11
"S.A. Kuns / S.A. Art" ("Twentieth Century South African Art") (Human & Rousseau, 1966) (Bokhorst/Martienssen), p. 130, ill.
ARTLOOK 9, Johannesburg - August, 1967, ill. p. 12 (bust of Kenneth Bakker done by Nell Kaye)
SA Panorama, Pretoria - January, 1969, pp. 40/41, ill.
"Century of South African Art 1869-1969" (Eljra Solomon), 1969 Lions International Johannesburg, exh. cat. 45, ill.
LANTERN, Pretoria - June, 1970, Vol. XIX, No. 4, pp. 14/19, ill. (PDF in Afrikaans)
ARTLOOK 48, Johannesburg - November, 1970, pp. 42/3, ill.
The South African Art Market 1971/72" (Art Institute SA, 1972) (Berman), pp. 61, 75
"Art in South Africa - A short survey" ("Report from South Africa - July/August 1972") publ. by Embassy of South Africa, London, ill. pp. 20+29
ARTLOOK 96, Johannesburg - August, 1975, Vol. 8 No. 4, p. 15, ill.
"South African Art" (MacDonald South Africa, 1978) (James Ambrose Brown, pp. 24, 26, 50, 54, 60; ill. p. 51
"Pendant in ivory and stainless steel", pre-1978 - click on image to see all recorded 3 jewellery pieces by Kenneth Bakker!
"The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Art" (Oxford Univ. Press, 1981) (Osborne), p. 513
"Three Centuries of South African Art" (A.D. Donker, 1982) (Hans Fransen), pp. 311, 318, ill.
"Art & Artists of South Africa" (Balkema, 1983) (Esmé Berman), pp. 46, 51/53, 247 ill.
"Looking at South African Art" (van Schaik, 1985) (Harmsen), p. 45, ill.
„The Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors including Namibia“ (Ogilvie / Graff) (Everard Read), 1988 – ISBN 0 620 12663 9 – listed on p. 38, ill. opp. p. 45
"Painting in South Africa" (Southern Book Publishers, 1993) (Esmé Berman), pp. 208, 224-227 ill.
"Guide to the Pretoria Art Museum" (A.J. Werth), undated, p. 24
The Star, Johannesburg - 16th September, 1965 - review
Die Vaderland, Johannesburg - 21st September, 1965
The Star, Johannesburg - 24th September, 1965
Rand Daily Mail, Johannesburg - 27th September, 1965
Die Vaderland, Johannesburg -28th September, 1965 - review
The Star, Johannesburg - 30th September, 1965
and others
Selected works on auction
Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London - 9th September, 2008 - Sale 16404, Lot 93 - ill.
Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - 8th April, 2009 - Sale 16771, Lots 11+25 - ill.
Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London - 13th October, 2009 - Sale 17356, Lot 140 - ill.
Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - 14th October, 2009 - Sale 16848, Lot 128 - ill.
Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London - 23rd March, 2010 - Sale 17941, Lot 81 - ill.
Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - 27th October, 2010 - Sale 17848, Lot 100 - ill.
Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - Africa Now Contemporary Africa - 6th October, 2016 - Lot 4 - ill.
Strauss & Co., Johannesburg - 8th October, 2009 - Lot 143
Strauss & Co., Johannesburg - 7th November, 2011 - Lot 104
click on image for better view of Lot 104
Strauss & Co., Johannesburg - 20th May, 2013 - Lot 145
click on image for better view of K Bakker "Geoniche 41", 1969 - m/media relief construction - 96.5x96.5 cm - Lot 145
Strauss & Co., Johannesburg - 21st October, 2013 - Lot 633
click on image for better view of K Bakker "Spherical Forms" No. 18, 1971 - m/media relief construction - 61x45 cm - Lot 633
Strauss & Co., Cape Town - 17th March, 2014 - Lot 635 + Lot 637
click on image for better view of K Bakker "Geostructure No. 5" - m/media on board - 152x122 cm - Lot 635
Strauss & Co., Johannesburg - 30th June, 2014 - Lot 105 + Lot 107
click on image for better view of K Bakker "Composition 1982" - m/media relief construction - 122x122 cm - Lot 107
click on image for better view of K. Bakker "Geoniche No. 40" - m/media relief construction - 91.5x91.5 cm - Lot 661
Strauss & Co., Cape Town - 13th October, 2014 - Lot 661
click on image for better view of K. Bakker "Construction No. 4", 1980 - m/media relief construction - 122.5x122.5 cm - Lot 622
Strauss & Co., Cape Town - 16th March, 2015 - Lot 622
Sotheby's Johannesburg (Esmé Berman's Collection) - 16th October, 1986, Lot 208, ill.
Welz / Sotheby's, Cape Town - 11th October, 2005 - Lot 1139
Welz / Sotheby's, Cape Town - 7th February, 2006, Lot 242
Welz / Sotheby's, Cape Town - 30th May, 2007 - Lot 687+688, ill.
Stephan Welz & Co., Johannesburg - 15th April, 2008 - Sale 802, Lot 420, ill.
Stephan Welz & Co., Cape Town - 20th October, 2009 - Sale 906, Lot 145, ill.
Provenance Auction House, Cape Town - 28th November, 2012 - Lot 440+441, ill.
Rudd's Auctions, Cape Town - 7th November, 2012 - Lot 510
Rudd's Auctions, Cape Town - 10th March, 2015 - Lot 316, ill.
Additional data
Image of Dr K Helmut Silberberg from Cape Town, Kenneth Bakker's main dealer, who organised the exhibition at Gallery 101 in 1965
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Last updated to 20th September, 2016