Walter Battiss
| Walter Battiss | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Walter Whall Battiss 6 January 1906 Karoo, Somerset East, South Africa |
| Died | 20 August 1982 (aged 76) Port Shepstone, South Africa |
| Known for | Painting |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Art competition | ||
 |
1948 London | Engravings and etchings |
Walter Whall Battiss (6 January 1906 – 20 August 1982) was a South African artist, who was generally considered to be the foremost South African abstract painter and known as the creator of the quirky "Fook Island" concept.
Battiss was born into an English Methodist family in the Karoo town of Somerset East. He first became interested in archaeology and tribal art as a young boy after moving to Koffiefontein in 1917. In 1919 the Battiss family settled in Fauresmith where he completed his education, matriculating in 1923. In 1924 he became a clerk in the Magistrates Court in Rustenburg. His formal art studies started in 1929 at the Witwatersrand Technical College (drawing and painting), followed by the Johannesburg Training College (a Teacher’s Diploma) and etching lessons. Battiss continued his studies while working as a magistrate’s clerk, and finally obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at University of South Africa at the age of 35.
Battiss was a founding member of the New Group, a loose friendship of recognized contemporary European and American artists. He was unique among them, in the sense that he was from what were then regarded as the colonies and in that he had not studied in either Europe or North America. In fact, in 1938 he visited Europe for the first time. The following year, he published his first book, The Amazing Bushman. His interest in rock art had a very profound impact on his ideas, regarding San painting as an important art form. He was also influenced by African cultural Ndebele beadwork and generally by pre-Islamic cultures and calligraphy.
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