Nell Kaye was born in Johannesburg, 1912. Nell Kaye's reputation rests on her work within a single genre with specific challenges and limitations - the bronze portrait bust. She trained in sculpture at Wits Technical College in the 1930s, but undertook further training under Lippy Lipschitz at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at UCT in the 1950s. She was one of the few professional sculptors, aside from Ivan Mitford-Barberton (qv.), to exhibit her work with SASA. Records indicate that she first showed a bust of Norman Kaye with the Society in 1942. She showed subsequently in 1945, 1950 and 1954. After this, she transferred her loyalties to the SAAA, of which she became Vice-Chairperson in 1966 -67 and Chairperson in 1967-68. In 1965 she opened her own art school, The Chelsea Art Studio in Cape Town. She was the recipient of many portrait commissions in SA and was posthumously awarded the SAAA medal in 1970. She died in Rondebosch, Cape, 1969.
Exhibitor on SASA-related exhibition c.1898 - 1950:
1942: SASA Winter Exh. (venue not stated) 14 - 29 Aug.
1945:42nd Annual Exh. of Contemp. SA Art, org. by SASA, MMG, 6 - 20 Apr.
1950: SASA Members' Annual Exh., MMG, 30 Aug. - 12 Sep.
Nell Kaye was born in Johannesburg, 1912. Nell Kaye's reputation rests on her work within a single genre with specific challenges and limitations - the bronze portrait bust. She trained in sculpture at Wits Technical College in the 1930s, but undertook further training under Lippy Lipschitz at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at UCT in the 1950s. She was one of the few professional sculptors, aside from Ivan Mitford-Barberton (qv.), to exhibit her work with SASA. Records indicate that she first showed a bust of Norman Kaye with the Society in 1942. She showed subsequently in 1945, 1950 and 1954. After this, she transferred her loyalties to the SAAA, of which she became Vice-Chairperson in 1966 -67 and Chairperson in 1967-68. In 1965 she opened her own art school, The Chelsea Art Studio in Cape Town. She was the recipient of many portrait commissions in SA and was posthumously awarded the SAAA medal in 1970. She died in Rondebosch, Cape, 1969.
Exhibitor on SASA-related exhibition c.1898 - 1950:
1942: SASA Winter Exh. (venue not stated) 14 - 29 Aug.
1945:42nd Annual Exh. of Contemp. SA Art, org. by SASA, MMG, 6 - 20 Apr.
1950: SASA Members' Annual Exh., MMG, 30 Aug. - 12 Sep.