‘South African Guernica’ artist bequest for University
Self Portrait - Albert Adams, 1958
The University of Salford is to exhibit works by one of South Africa’s most celebrated artists following the bequest of nearly 100 paintings, drawings and prints.
The substantial gift to the University spans six decades of work by Albert Adams (1929-2006), widely recognised today as one of the African country’s most gifted Expressionist painters and printmakers, and whose politically-charged painting South Africa 1959 has become known as ‘the South African Guernica’ after the Picasso painting depicting the bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.
Born in Johannesburg, Adams was unable to pursue his education as an artist due to the apartheid policy and moved to England in 1953 to study at the Slade School of Art. In response to his experience under apartheid, much of Adams’ work for the rest of his life focused on political oppression and barbarity, including the imprisonment of political prisoners on Robben Island, the Holocaust and more recent atrocities in Darfur and Abu Ghraib.
The University’s Incarceration exhibition highlights this body of work, while linked exhibition The burden offers an overview of Adams’ life and career and exploration of his own sense of identity. It features depictions of wild animals and African and Asian artworks collected by Adams, plus studio artefacts and archive material.
The gift was made by Adams’ partner Edward Glennon, who plans to donate much of the remaining collection to museums and galleries in South Africa.
Professor Martin Hall, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “Albert Adams is notable for both the inspiration he drew from South Africa and for his engagement with key issues as an artist living and working in London. He had a significant connection with Salford from the early 1950s, and this donation is a very welcome addition to the University’s art collection.”
A launch evening for the Albert Adams archive will be held on Thursday 26 April from 6.00pm-8.00pm at the Working Class Movement Library, 51 Crescent, Salford. The Library’s Chair of Trustees, Margaret Cohen, said: “It is a privilege for us to be able to offer space to these extraordinary images. They have a particular resonance in the setting of our unique collection, which captures the stories and struggles of ordinary people's efforts to improve their world.”
Incarceration runs from Tuesday 10 April until Friday 29 June at the Working Class Movement Library, while The burden is open now until Sunday 1 July at the University’s Clifford Whitworth Library. The collection will tour nationally from 2013.
Images of artworks from the Albert Adams archive can be viewed and downloaded at the University of Salford’s Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/salforduniversity.
