Alexander Quinn WAGNER
1920 - 2006
PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS, CONSTRUCTIONS and Jewellery
Alex Wagner in his studio at Greytown, 1990
Short biography
Born in Johannesburg, 1920, educated at Grey College, Port Elizabeth, trained at Natal Technical College under Prof. OJP Oxley and Merlyn Evans. Served for 5 years with the SA forces in North Africa and Italy. Was member of the New Group. 1945 married Beryl Newman. Lived in Johannesburg 1945-1949, moved to Greytown, Natal in 1950, settling on the 100 acre farm "Siena". He was still living in Greytown in 1999, by then a widower.
Exhibited his works in various centres in South Africa, also in Glasgow and Edinburgh, mainly jointly with Beryl Newman.
Beryl Newman 1990 and with Alex Wagner in 1995
Further details can be obtained from the references and links below!
Exhibitions at Gallery 101 Johannesburg
1962 "Art & Religion" The Gallery 101 - U.A.T. 1962 Scholarship Competition" (26th February) - opened by A.M. van Schoor - cat. 44, ill.
"The Prophet" (conté/gouache) - cat. 44
1962 Gallery 101 Johannesburg (March or May) - opened by Prof. I. Gordon - cat. March 1962 (PDF)
Other solo and group exhibitions
1948 Included in Overseas Exhibition of South African Art at the Tate, London (21st September to 31st October, 1948)
1960 Constantia Gallery, Johannesburg (17th October) - solo - opened by Jack Penn
1965 Taylor Gallery, Pietermaritzburg (19th November) - opened by Prof. I. Gordon
1966 Republic Festival Exhibition - SA Association of Arts, Pretoria (May), cat. 312, 313
See also further details by clicking on this image!
A selection of Works
Alex Wagner signed his works with this signet and his jewellery with a stamp per PDF link
"Girl with a migraine" - conté / gouache 52x43 cm
"The departure from Jerusalem" - oil 76x64 cm
"Il ridotto" - watercolour on paper - 38x44 cm
"The Monkey God" - oil/board - 38x44 cm
"Si momentum" - gouache/watercolour - 50x35 cm
Note: these last 4 works listed were downloaded from www.devriesart.co.uk/wagner.html
(unfortunately, this website was taken off the Internet early 2012)
"Couch" - drawing - early work
Data from a private collection in Germany (PDF)
"The sea of balance", 1953/54 - m/media under glass - 43x59 cm
Works in Public Collections
Durban Art Gallery, Durban
"Herne, the hunter" - collage 55 x 42 cm
"Personal Projection No. III", 1984 - oil/board 40.7 x 38 cm
also in collections of:
Killie Campbell Africana Library, University of Natal, Durban
University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Works on auction
Bonhams, New Bond Street, London - 23rd May, 2007 - Lot 151
"Villa des Mystères, Pompéi" mixed media 29x19cm
click on image for a better view!
Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London - 25th September, 2007 - Lot 140
Selected Publications
Alex Wagner in 1979
Alex Wagner in his studio (click on image)
"South African Art" (te Water/Geoffrey Long) (SAAA Cape Town), 1948/49 (p. 24, cat. 112, 113)
"Die kuns van 'n Kwarteeu" (Bokhorst) (Standpunte) 9 (3), 1954, pp. 45, 51
"Art in South Africa since 1962" (F.L. Alexander) (Balkema), 1962, p. 170
"Die Hedendaagse skilderkuns in SA" (HM van der Westhuysen) (Ons Erfdeel Vlaandere 5) (3) Maart 1962, p. 47
"South African Artists 1900-1962" (Harold Jeppe) (Afrikaanse Boekhandel), 1963, p. 108
"Art South Africa Today", Durban Art Gallery - July/August, 1965, cat. 28
Natal Witness, Durban - 17th May, 1965, 17th+18th+20th November, 1965, ill.
Natal Daily News, Durban - 22nd November, 1965, ill.
"Art & Artists of South Africa" (Berman) (Balkema), 1983, pp. 149, 310, 482/3 ill., 514, 516
„The Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors including Namibia“ (Ogilvie / Graff) (Everard Read), 1988 – ISBN 0 620 12663 9 – listed on p. 726
"150 South African Paintings Past and Present" (Alexander/Cohen) (Struikhof), 1990, p. 109, pl. 85
"Artists' Palate - a collection of artists' recipes" (Ladan / Doyle), 1991 - p.180, ill. - ISBN 0-620-15955-3
ARTLOOK 34 Johannesburg - September 1969, p. 11, ill.
LANTERN, Pretoria - December, 1979, "Alex Wagner" by Pamela Reid, pp. 50-56, ill.
S.A. Arts Calendar, Pretoria - Vol. 10 No. 4, Autumn - Review of Salon exhibition in home of Mary and John Slatter, Greytown - 26th October, 1985
Uploaded 10th January, 2016