SALI HERMAN
Sali Herman belongs to a generation of European artists who arrived in Australia in the 1930s and 1940s, bringing with him an experience of social realist painting and contributing to the development of the modern movement in Australia. Born in Zurich, Herman studied at the Zurich Technology School (1914-16) and in Paris (1920-23) before immigrating to Australia in 1937, where he studied at the George Bell School in Melbourne.
From 1941 he exhibited in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes, later achieving success as the winner of the Wynne Prize in 1945, 1962, 1965, and 1967 and the Sulman Prize in 1947 and 1949. His paintings of urban life were characterised by his affection and optimism for Sydney’s urban communities and distinguished his work from fellow immigrant, Yosl Bergner’s more sombre treatment of similar subjects.
Herman also achieved prominence as Australian war artist in the Pacific from 1945 to 1946, completing a series of paintings of Lae, Bougainville and Rabaul, now held in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. A retrospective of his work was held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1981.
Herman’s work is held in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
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