Alexander ROSE-INNES (1915 – 1996)
A Still Life Of Roses
date unknown
oil on board
49.5 x 39 cm
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Beaufort West, Alexander Rose-Innes developed an aptitude for drawing at an early age. The Rose-Innes family moved to Port Elizabeth in 1927, where he began his art studies at the Art School of the Port Elizabeth Technical College, under Francis Pickford and Jack Heath. After completing his studies, he enrolled as an apprentice sign-writer, continuing to pursue his art in his free time.
Rose-Innes took up employment as a commercial sign-writer in order to earn a living. He joined the army at the start of the Second World War in 1940 and was based in Pretoria, Kimberley and Cape Town during the following five years.
After the war, he decided to devote himself to his art. He settled in Cape Town in 1956, where Matthys Bokhorst – curator of the Michaelis Collection and later to become Director of the South African National Gallery from 1962 until 1973 – befriended the artist and encouraged him to continue painting and exhibiting his work.
In 1962, Rose-Innes exhibited at the South African Association of Arts Gallery with Gregoire Boonzaier, Ruth Prowse, David Botha, Carl Büchner, Nerine Desmond, and Frank Spears – and became associated with the Cape Impressionist tradition.
Several solo exhibitions in South Africa and Belgium followed, and his work was included in numerous national and international exhibitions. In 1986, he was honoured by the University of Pretoria with a retrospective exhibition of his work and a medal for his contribution to the arts in South Africa.