Carl Buchner (1921 – 2003)

Carl Buchner was born in Somerset East, Eastern Cape in 1921. He was a painter of portraits, figures, landscapes,

still life, interiors and street scenes. Carl worked in oil and acrylic. He received the Artists of Fame and

Promise Award in 1963. In the course of his career a searching artist often bends in several directions, making

classification in terms of well-known stereotypes an arbitrary and inexact procedure. Throughout all the phases of

Carl Buchner’s career, he revealed himself unwaveringly as a romantic humanist. The human figure has provided

the most frequently recurrent motif of his work. Buchner’s early paintings were consistently devoted to human

subject matter. His figures were sensitively portrayed, slightly elongated forms, expressionist distortion and

romantic colour usage contributing to the poetic effect.

Born: Somerset East, Cape Province

Died: 2003, Cape Town.

He was a painter of portraits, landscapes, still life, interiors and street scenes. Works in oil and acrylic.

Studies: 1940-44 Witwatersrand Technical College, under Eric Byrd, Phyllis Gardner, Elizabeth Macadam, and Maurice Van Essche, gaining a National Art Teachers Certificate.

Profile: An executive member of the SAAA. 1964 chairman of the National Committee of the SAAA. 1944-54 taught at several Transvaal Schools and at the Pretoria Art Centre 1954 Art Inspector for the Cape Education Department 1956 Head of the PJ Olivier Art Centre, Stellenbosch 1959-70 lectured at the Michaelis school of Fine Art. For many years a trustee of the SA National Gallery, Cape Town. 1962 an Art Critic for Die Burger also an Art Critic for The Cape Times and a writer of articles on art and artitsts for various magazines. 1967 wrote the introduction to Van Essche, Tafelberg, Cape Town. A Painting entitled "Karroo Village" was reproduced by AA Balkema, Cape Town. 1957-58 and 1964 study tours of Europe.

 Exhibitions: He has participated in numerous group exhibitions in SA, Zimbabwe and Argentina 1954 first of several solo exhibitions held in SA 1956 and 1960 Quadrennial Exhibitions 1982 Cape Town Triennial.