A Meeting of Minds - Louis Maqhubela and Douglas Portway

33 Artist Biographies Louis Khehla Maqhubela 1939: Born in Durban 1949: Sent to live with family in Transkei while parents move to Johannesburg 1952: Joins his parents in Johannesburg 1955–1957: Attends Orlando High School; joined Durant Sihlali’s weekend artists’ group 1957–1959: Attends the Polly Street Art Centre with Cecil Skotnes and Sydney Kumalo as mentors 1959: Wins Bursary Competition sponsored by the Rembrandt Tobacco Company 1960: Works as a commercial artist 1961: Large-scale oil painting commissions for public buildings in Soweto 1962: Becomes a student of the Rosicrucian Order; mosaic commissions for buildings in Soweto 1967: Visits Europe with prize money for winning Artist of Fame and Promise award by the Adler Fielding Gallery, Johannesburg Meets Douglas Portway 1969: Receives the Oppenheimer Trust Award 1972: Wins painting prize at the African Studies Centre, University of California, Los Angeles 1973: Leaves South Africa for Spain 1976: Moves to London 1984–1985: Attends Goldsmiths, University of London 1985–1988: Attends the Slade School of Fine Art, obtaining a post- graduate diploma in printmaking 1994–2004: Visits South Africa sporadically 2010: Honoured with a major retrospective exhibition: A Vigil of Departure , at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg 2019: Lives and works in London, hosts his own home page, maqhubela.com Douglas Portway 1922: Born in Johannesburg 1943–1944: Studies at Witwatersrand Technical College Art School in Johannesburg under Maurice van Essche 1945: Teaches at the Witwatersrand Technical College Art School 1945: First one-person exhibition 1945–1947: Teaches at the University of the Witwatersrand 1952: Receives a travel grant from the Institute of International Education in New York and travels the Midwest and the East Coast of America Meets the Mexican artist, Rufino Tamayo 1956: Co-founder and chairperson of the Contemporary Arts Society; exhibits at the Venice Biennale 1957: Leaves South Africa permanently. Travels in Western Europe and the United Kingdom 1958: Signs a contract with the Drian Gallery in London 1959–1966: Lives and works in Ibiza, Spain 1961–1962: Visits Germany 1965: Visits Belgium and the Netherlands 1967: Settles permanently in St Ives, Cornwall Meets Louis Maqhubela 1970: Exhibits at the Marjorie Parr Gallery in St Ives and in London 1972: Acquires the property, Le Sage in Razac d’Eymet in the Dordogne district of France 1973–1993: Lives and works in St Ives and in Razac d’Eymet and visits Switzerland from time to time 1983: J P Hodin publishes a monograph, Douglas Portway: A Painter’s Life 1993: Dies in Cornwall