b. 1905 Basel - d. 1967 Johannesburg
paintings, pastels and drawings
Heidi Herzog sketching in her Johannesburg studio in 1963 (Photo © Coen C. Oosthuysen, Johannesburg)
(click here for further portraits of the artist and additional biographical notes)
Brief C.V.
Born Adelheid Herzog in Basel, Switzerland, 7th December, 1905; died in Johannesburg, South Africa, 25th February, 1967, after an open-heart operation. She worked and exhibited in Europe before emigrating to South Africa in 1951.
Heidi Herzog's parents were Johannes Herzog, a bank accountant, and Anna Maria Herzog née Süss. Heidi, baptized at St. Peter's in Basel on 8th April, 1906, married against her family' wishes a Jewish painter. In 1931, she began painting at Torre del Greco (ltaly). She worked throughout ltaly and France, was influenced by André Derain and Dunoyer de Segonzac. She first participated in a joint exhibition at the Galeries Modernes in Marseilles. She worked for about eights months at the artists' colony "La Cadière d'Azur" with Robert Lemercier and André Favory (1888-1937). Held solo exhibition at Musée d 'Arles. Decisive period at Aix-en-Provence.
After losing her husband and their two children through bombs during WW2, she fled to Switzerland. Through a family friend, and as a result of her academic studies in chemistry in Basel, she was sent to South Africa, but this occupation did not satisfy her. After a short stay in Durban, she moved to Johannesburg where she dedicated herself to her art. She was then noticed by Gerrit Bakker who offered her an exhibition at his gallery in May 1961.
For more details on her life, see also this link in German!
Heidi HERZOG SIGNED HER WORKS "HH", usually followed by the date.
Solo Shows in South Africa
Constantia Gallery, Loveday Street, Johannesburg - May 1961 (pastels and oils)
Municipal Library, Springs - July 1961
Gallery Vermeer, Pretoria - September 1962
Gallery 101, Johannesburg – Paintings and Pastels – 1.4.1963-13.4.1963 (48 works) (opened by Peter Eliastam)
Illustrated on Gallery 101 invitation card – 1st April, 1963 (click
on image for better view)
Gallery 101, Johannesburg – Paintings and Pastels – 31.8.1964-12.9.1964 (42 works) (opened by Prof. J.E. Kerrich)
Strand Galleries, Cape Town - 22.2.1966 (paintings and pastels)
Gallery 101, Johannesburg – Memorial Exhibition of Paintings and Pastels – 6th May, 1968
William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley - 19.2.1974-5.3.1974 (paintings) (opened by Peter Eliastam)
Bakker’s Bookshop, 84 Loveday Street, Johannesburg – Paintings, pastel drawings - 26.8.1974–14.9.1974 (45 works)
RAU (Gencor Gallery), Johannesburg:
Paintings and Drawings –
RAU 7.2.1983-26.2.1983 (opened by Gerrit
Bakker)
Selected Paintings in South Africa and in Europe
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Heidi HERZOG "Flower study", 1965 - oil/board - 58 x 38.8 cm |
Heidi HERZOG "Still life of flowers in a vase", 1964 - oil on canvas - 60 x 60cm | Heidi HERZOG "Roses in a vase", 1965 - oil on canvas - 63 x 39.5 cm |
| Click on image for a better view! | Click on image for a better view! |
Selected Paintings in Europe
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| Click on image for a better view! | Heidi HERZOG "Flowers in a vase", 1965 - oil on canvas - 55 x 70cm | All works are signed "HH" and dated | |
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| Heidi HERZOG "Spring", April 1966 - oil on canvas - 77 x 52 cm | Heidi HERZOG "Fleurs hollandaises", August 1966 - oil on canvas - 62 x 91.5cm | ||
Press Reviews and Notices
South African Art News and Review, Johannesburg - Vol. 1, No. 4 - June 1st, 1961, p. 11
Die Vaderland, Johannesburg – late March, 1963
The Star, Johannesburg - 2.4.1963
Die Vaderland, Johannesburg - 4.4.1963
S.A. Stem – 7.4.1963
Rand Daily Mail, Johannesburg - 8.4.1963, ill.
Die Vaderland, Johannesburg - 31.8.1964
The Star, Johannesburg – 3.9.1964 (“Painter with a misty, fleeting quality”)
Rand Daily Mail, Johannesburg – 3.9.1964
The Star, Johannesburg - 29.6.1965
Two unrecorded newspapers, Johannesburg - including obituary - 1964 and 1967
Cape Argus, Cape Town - 22nd February, 1966 (article)
Cape Argus, Cape Town - 28th February, 1966 (review by Neville Dubow)
The Star, Johannesburg – 7.5.1968
Rand Daily Mail, Johannesburg – 11.5.1968, ill.
Diamond Fields Advertiser, Kimberley - 15.2.1974 (announcement)
Selected Pastels
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Heidi HERZOG "Blossoms in a Vase", 1964 Pastel - 64x48 cm |
Heidi HERZOG "Stillife", 1964 - Pastel - 55x75 cm |
Heidi HERZOG "Stillife of flowers in a vase", 1965 Mixed media / paper - 57x34 cm
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N.B.: Click on two smaller images for a better view! All works are signed "HH" with date.
Museum Collections
South African museums
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Heidi HERZOG "Arum lilies", 1964 - oil on canvas - 60 x 50cm Collection of the: |
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William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley |
Except for some unconfirmed published listings, there was no proof of any works held in other public museums in South Africa as at 2009.
Museums in Europe
Basel - contrary to what Heidi Herzog or other researchers recorded in their published documentation, no work was held by the Kunstmuseum Basel or the Kupferstichkabinett Basel as at May 2009 (letter from them dated 29th May, 2009).
References
Article in German published on 18.2.2008 on website “das-blaettchen.de/nr0408”;
„The Making of a Nation“ (Peter Joyce) (Zebra) (2007), p. 151;
"Biografisches Lexikon der Schweizer Kunst" (Hrsg.: Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Zürich und Lausanne; NZZ 1998, 2 Bde, S. 175;
„The Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors including Namibia“ (Ogilvie / Graff) (Everard Read), 1988 – ISBN 0 620 12663 9 – listed on p. 290/291
"Bibliografie: Suid-Afrikaanse Kunsternaars" (Schoonraad) (Kunsargief, Departement Kunsgeskiedenis, Universiteit van Pretoria, 1986)
„Art & Artists of South Africa“ (Berman) (Balkema, 1983), p. 168/169, ill.;
"South African Art" (James Ambrose Brown) (MacDonald SA, Cape Town), 1978, p. 22 - ISBN 0 7967 0009 5
Exhibition catalogue August/September, 1974 – G. Bakker, Johannesburg (PDF);
“The South African Art Market 1971/72” (Esmé Berman) (Art Institute SA), p. 66, 79, 90;
ARTLOOK 17, Johannesburg – April 1968, Vol. 2, No. 5, p. 20, ill.;
ARTLOOK 16, Johannesburg – March 1968, Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 7, ill.;
“Antiques and Bygones: Notes for South African collectors” (Denis Godfrey) (Timmins), 1967, from article on Gerrit Bakker, pp. 112/4 + two ill.;
“Contrast XII” South African Quarterly, Winter 1965, Vol. 3 No. 4, three drawings ill. pp. 9, 13, 92, note on p. 94.
Works auctioned
Die Kunskamer, Cape Town - 1st Art Sale in Johannesburg - Carlton Hotel, Johannesburg - 23rd May, 1978, cat. 34
Sotheby’s Johannesburg – 8th May, 1995 – Lot 63, 64
Ashbey’s Cape Town – 28th August, 2008 - Lot 344
5th Avenue Auctioneers, Johannesburg – 21st September, 2008 – Lot 61
Ashbey’s Cape Town – 27th November, 2008 - Lot 318
Graham’s Fine Art Gallery, Johannesburg (The Brett Kebble Art Collection) – 7th May, 2009 – Lot 115 - knocked down for ZAR30'800!
Russell Kaplan Auctioneers, Johannesburg - 10th October, 2009 - Lot P52
Ashbey's Cape Town - 22nd April, 2010 - Lot 273; 7th October, 2010 - Lot 189
5th Avenue Auctioneers, Johannesburg - 27th March, 2011 - Lot 207
Russell Kaplan Auctioneers, Johannesburg - 25th October, 2011 - Lot P110
Heidi Herzog "Stillife lillies",
pastel on paper 57x49 cm (click on image!)
Ashbey's Cape Town - 23rd February, 2012 - Lot 227
Provenance Auction House, Cape Town - 28th November, 2012 - Lot 453; 11th December, 2013 (Vol. 22) - Lot 328; 29th January, 2014 - Lot 36/354; 13th February, 2014 - Lot 35
Stephan Welz & Co., Cape Town - 28th October, 2014 - Lot 254
Works shown on other websites
Strydom Gallery (Art Affair) in George, Garden Route, South Africa - 2009
Heidi Herzog and her works on Youtube
"A Symphony in Colour - Heidi HERZOG paints", a forgotten 16mm film on the artist, produced by Peter Towers in 1965, is being processed by CFT Archive & Picture House Films, Thurso, UK. - see https://youtu.be/Tu_EktS4Vmk © for a small section of excerpts without sound, uploaded in 2016.
Works formerly in Private Collections as published in the SA press
Prof. Anna Neethling-Pohl; Mr Chester Beatty
Additional Research material on Heidi Herzog
available from the UJ Library, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg: Special Collections:
Photos of paintings; Newspaper clippings 1961–1967; Memoranda, catalogues and programmes of exhibitions 1961–1984; Pencil sketch; Interview with Gerrit Bakker and other pieces on Heidi Herzog, 1983
Important request
If you have more information or images and exhibition catalogues on HEIDI HERZOG, please let us know for inclusion on this site - send to "info.at.pelmama.org"!
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Updated 8th February, 2016
