John henry amshewitz biography of albert
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He continued to publish etchings for journals including the Sketch, the Sphere, the Graphic, Punch and the Illustrated London News, where in 1933 his sketch of Albert Einstein was printed on the front page. He held his first exhibition in South Africa in 1916, followed by many others, and was elected member of the South African Society of Artists in 1917.
In 1918, he married Sarah Briana Judes in Johannesburg (after his death, she went on to publish The Paintings of JH Amshewitz (London, 1951)).
His work is represented in UK collections including the Ben Uri Collection, the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A, as well as the South African National Art Gallery in Cape Town, the Africana Museum in Johannesburg, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
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A memorial exhibition was held at the City Hall, Johannesburg in 1943.After some of his works were acquired by the Royal Family, Queen Mary visited his home in 1932. In 1905 he also won a £40 prize for mural decoration, then won both first and second place in an open competition to paint four murals for the Centenary Memorial at the Liverpool City Hall in 1907, and a mural for the Royal Exchange in London in 1910.
Won Academy prize for mural decoration.
Short Artist Biography
- J H Amshewitz was the son of a Rabbi on the staff on Montefiore College, England. Elected Member of Royal Society of British Artists (RBA);
- 1916 Accepted leading role of Perlmutter in theatrical production, ‘Potash and Perlmutter’, for six month tour of South Africa; stayed six years.
Several exhibitions in London.
- 1943 Memorial Exhibition, Johannesburg.
- 1979 ‘South African Printmakers’, South Africa National Art Gallery, Cape Town.
Public Art Collections
South Africa National Art Gallery, Cape Town; Johannesburg Art Gallery; Durban Art Gallery; Pretoria Art Museum; William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley; King George VI Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth; Africana Museum, Johannesburg; Albany Museum, Grahamstown; ‘Libertas’; Ann Bryant Art Gallery, East London.
In 1918, he married Sarah Briana Judes (who published The Paintings of JH Amshewitz in London in 1951); he founded the Johannesburg Sketch Club the same year and, as President, mentoring other Johannesburg artists, leading to the founding of the School of Art, and also became chief cartoonist for the Rand Daily Mail and Sunday Times. J H Amshewitz was founder-member of Johannesburg Sketch Club, subsequently became President.
Amshewitz also illustrated works for the Jewish writer Israel Zangwill, including Ghetto Comedies (1907), and a Haggadah (1930). While still a student, Amshewitz exhibited at the Royal Academy (from 1905), showing a portrait of his father in 1906. Art & Artists of South Africa . Southern Book Publishers. Further mural commissions included three large panels for South Africa House in London (1933) and another for Athlone Castle (1935).
His commissions included a portrait of Mrs Louis Botha the wife of the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa (1920) and a War Memorial in Boksburg (1921).
Amshewitz returned to England in 1922, exhibiting at the Royal Society of British Artists (1923), in the International Exhibition at the Royal Academy (1925), where he exhibited his etching “The Wedding” (copies are now in the South African National Gallery, Cape Town and the Ben Uri Collection); he held a solo exhibition at the Fine Art Society (1927).
He held his first exhibition in South Africa in 1916 and was elected a member of the South African Society of Artists in 1917. Mentor and critic to Johannesburg artists.
- 1918 Married Sarah Briana Judes, Johannesburg. The two important mural undertakings drew attention to the young artist and other recognition followed.
- 1914 J H Amshewitz was rejected by the British army because of thigh injury.
Abroad : Metropolitan Museum, New York; Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Source
Berman, E. 1994. Amshewitz won an art scholarship to study at the Royal Academy School from 1902–07, under the direction of John Singer Sargent, Sir George Clausen and Solomon J Solomon.