Jean Welz

Welz was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1900, into a family in the picture-framing and gilding trade. He studied art and architecture, and in 1925 travelled to Paris, where he stayed until 1937. It was during this period that he adopted the name Jean.[1]

In 1937 Welz emigrated to South Africa, and began work as an architect at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he designed the entrance foyer of the Great Hall and the Institute for Geophysical Research. In 1939 he became ill with tuberculosis and moved with his family to Barrydale in the Little Karoo, where he and his family operated a tea-room.[1]

In 1941 Welz became principal of the Hugo Naudé Art Centre in Worcester, Western Cape, remaining in Worcester for 28 years. He held his first exhibitions in Stellenbosch and Cape Town in 1942, and the same year became a member of the New Group of South African artists, a loose association of mostly younger artists.[1]

Welz was a successful and influential artist until he again became ill in 1968. His health deteriorated and he died in 1975. One of his sons, Martin Welz, is a well-known South African investigative journalist. Another, Stephan Welz, was an art dealer.

Welz exhibited widely from 1942 until his last major exhibition in 1970. In 1947 he was awarded the Silver Medal of the South African Academy for Arts and Science for his picture Earthenware and cupboard door. In 1969 the South African Academy for Arts and Science awarded him the Medal of Honour for painting.[1]

• 1942 First one-man show, Cape Town.
• 1942 South African Academy New Group Art Exhibitions.
• 1948 Overseas exhibition of South African Art, Tate Gallery
• 1952 Van Riebeeck Tercentenary Exhibition, Venice Biennale.
• 1953 Rhodes Centenary Exhibition.
• 1957 São Paulo Biennale.
• 1966 Republic Fest Exhibition, Pretoria.
• 1970 Prestige Retrospective Exhibition, South African National Art Gallery and Johannesburg Art Gallery.