HERMAN, SALI (1898-1993)

"Street In Stanmore" (1987)
oil on canvas
44.5 x 59.5cm
signed lower right
*Private Collection of Barry Pearce, former Head of Australian Art, AGNSW
*private collection, Sydney
 
Sali Herman CMG was a prominent, award-winning Swiss-Australian Modernist & Official War Artist (& arguably our greatest immigrant artist). Born Sali Yakubowitsch, he studied life drawing and composition at the Zurich Technical School, and painting at the Max Reinhardt school. He first exhibited his work publicly in 1918 at the Kunsthaus Zurich. In 1920 his painting of one of his sisters, Yetta (1919), won him a Carnegie Corporation of New York grant of one thousand francs. Following compulsory military service in the Swiss Army, he changed his name to Herman and immigrated to Australia in 1937, leaving behind economic depression in Europe, rising anti-Semitism, and his frustration with the art-dealing industry. He studied briefly at the George Bell school (1937–38), which was then regarded as the centre of the modern art movement in Melbourne. Herman soon came to be known for his paintings of the streets, buildings, and slums of the inner city, where, at Potts Point, he made his home. Finding inspiration in the urban environment, rather than the outback scenes and gum trees then popular among many artists and collectors, he developed a distinctive style within Australian art. Herman served in the AIF in World War II, and was an Official War Artist. Several of his war paintings are in the Australian War Memorial. He was awarded the Sulman prize twice and also won the Wynne prize three times. For many years he held regular one-man exhibitions around Australia, as well as participating in group shows. In 1953 he exhibited at Leicester Galleries in London, and in 1962 his work was included in an exhibition of Australian art at the Tate Gallery. He was appointed OBE in 1971 and CMG in 1982. His works are represented in major institutions throughout Australia!! This is one of the largest works Herman produced, missing for many years, and was exhibited at Holdsworth Galleries in 1973. A view from the front verandah of Barry Pearce's old residence, done during a visit by the artist.