Ernst DE JONG (1934)
Shield I
1975
silkscreen
edition 31/50
69 x 48 cm
Shield III
1975
silkscreen
edition 31/50
69 x 48cm
BIOGRAPHY
Ernst de Jong was born in Pretoria and spent his school years painting and swimming. His talent as a swimmer won him a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma in the United States, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and was awarded the prize for the best student in his graduation class.
He returned to South Africa in 1957 and, the following year, opened Ernst de Jong Studios, which came to be regarded as the foremost graphic design studio in the country. He lectured in graphic design, aesthetics and painting at the Pretoria Technikon (now Tshwane University of Technology), the University of Pretoria, the University of the Witwatersrand, the School of New Vision in New York City and the Academy of Graphic Design in Oslo and was influential in shaping the aesthetic of many young designers and painters over several decades.
De Jong participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in South Africa, Europe, Scandinavia and the United States, notably the 1972 Venice Biennale.
From 1994 to 1998, the artist and his wife lived in Oslo, where he produced a series of paintings titled Passage to Norway, which was shown at the Gallery Galtung in Oslo.
The Pretoria Art Museum hosted a retrospective exhibition of his work in 1994 – and another solo in 2000.
De Jong completed several public commissions, including the fire screen mural at the State Theatre in Pretoria and postage-stamp artworks, and was the Design Director for the new South African bank notes with animals which were released in 1992.
In 2001, he established the Ernst de Jong Academy of Fine Art in Pretoria, which offered Diploma courses in Graphic Design and Advanced Painting. It is now permanently closed.