Bettie cilliers barnard biography

South African artist

Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, DMS (18 November 1914 – 15 September 2010) was a South African abstract artist, generally known for her large canvases of birds in flight.

Bettie cilliers barnard biography wikipedia

She was also the mother of well-known South African actress, Jana Cilliers.

She was a recipient of the Decoration for Meritorious Services.

Biography

Cilliers-Barnard was born in Rustenburg, Transvaal on 18 November 1914.

She started painting in the late 1930s and over the years kept experimenting with colour, lines, abstraction and figurative abstractions.

Bettie cilliers barnard artist

In the 1970s, birds unexpectedly started appearing in her work – which could be described as part of her earthy symbolism. She referred to this work as her "flights of the spirit". Since 1946, Cilliers-Barnard's works have been shown in seventy solo exhibitions in South Africa as well as in Paris (paintings 1956), London (graphic art 1971), and at the Prestiges Invitation Exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts