Who hasn’t walked into an aunt or uncle’s home and seen a Vladimir Tretchikoff print taking pride of place in the lounge?
Be it the Weeping Rose, Dying Swan or Miss Wong, his art is unmistakable and whether you love it or hate it, unforgettable.
A few years ago I picked up a copy of Pigeon’s Luck, which Tretchikoff co-wrote with Andrew Hocking, and I discovered there was far, far more to the flamboyant artist than his sometimes outrageous choice in subject matter or palette. His personal life read like something out of a James Bond movie.
And while my husband refuses to allow me to hang my somewhat faded Pink Magnolias in our home, and has possibly quietly disposed of it, I can’t help but gush on about Tretchikoff’s art.
To see a collection of Tretchikoff’s paintings this year, in the hallowed halls of the Iziko South African National Gallery no less, was definitely one of the events I can cross off my bucket list.
In Tretchikoff: The People’s Painter, Andrew Lamprecht, the curator of the current Tretchikoff exhibition, has offered an overview of the major themes of Tretchikoff and his life.
Not only does he deliver commentary, but has given others, such as Riason Naidoo, director of Iziko Art Collections; Natasha Swift, director of the Tretchikoff Foundation; Ashraf Jamal, an academic at Rhodes University; Yvonne du Toit, filmmaker and journalist; Boris Gorelik, historian; Melvyn Minnaar, art critic; and Marianne Fassler, a fashion designer, all the opportunity to have their say.
Even if there is no agreement between those who examined Tretchikoff’s life, it is clear that he had a great impact on the world of art in that he made its appreciation thereof accessible to the layperson. And it’s heartening to see the art establishment give some recognition to the man, even if it is grudging.
Lamprecht has put together a keeper, and Tretchikoff: The People’s Painter is a valuable addition to an art enthusiast’s bookshelf.
It offers a useful retrospective of Tretchikoff’s life and work that takes up where his autobiography leaves off and fills in some of those tantalising gaps that have left fans wondering.