Cecil Skotnes (South Africa 1926 - 2009) And Stephen'S Tapestry Studio One-Eyed Cat ,1960, woven in 2020/
Provenance : [Propriété non datée]
- Private collection, Johannesburg
- Stephens Tapestry Studio, Johannesburg
Exhibited :
Literature :
Notes : Notes: Woven in 2020/2021, this tapestry depicts the famed image of Cecil Skotnes’ Cat, a limited edition woodcut made and printed in 1960. Skotnes gifted the print to his daughter Pippa, who fondly recalls: “The image I remember most clearly from my early childhood (he made this for me for my third Christmas) was a large cat, roughly cut in wood and printed by hand with the back of a spoon on fine rice paper, which hung on my bedroom wall. It was apparently a portrait of a friend’s one-eyed cat, which hunted for its dinner and gave its name to my own, more gentle pet, Kotchka”. [1] Here, on an enlarged scale, the strong and bold marks and shapes of Skotnes’ original woodcut translate beautifully in woven tapestry form. Skotnes also gave this print as a Christmas gift to William Kentridge’s family when he was six years old. This particular cat image stayed with Kentridge – both because it seemed to him to be a self-portrait of Skotnes, with his moustache whiskers and his bright, cat-like eyes; and also because it changed the way that Kentridge saw cats. Ever since, cats have become a recurring motif in Kentridge’s work – all of them in one way or another indebted to this first Skotnes cat. [2] [1] Skotnes, P. (1996). At the Cutting Edge: Cecil Skotnes as Printmaker. In Harmsen, F. (ed.). Cecil Skotnes. Cape Town: South African Breweries. p 84. [2] Flint, J. William Kentridge: Scribble Cat. https://davidkrutprojects.com/artworks/8908/scribble-cat [Accessed on 2 November 2022] Collections: The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, Norval Foundation, Cape Town; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Royal Belgian Library, Brussels; Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Copenhagen and Schlesinger Organisation, London.
Condition_report : The overall condition is good.
