Sali Herman

Sali Herman (12 February 1898 – 3 April 1993) was a Swiss-born Australian artist, one of Australia's Official War Artists for the Second World War.

Life and career

Herman arrived in Melbourne in 1937 and enlisted in the Australian Army in 1941. In 1945, he was appointed an Official War Artist, painting at several places in the Pacific such as Rabaul. He submitted 26 paintings to the Australian War Memorial.

Sali Herman was known for paintings of inner city streets and slums in Sydney. He was awarded the Sulman Prize in 1946 for Natives carrying wounded soldiers, and also in 1948 for The Drovers. He won the Wynne Prize four times; in 1944 for McElhone Stairs; in 1962 for The Devil's Bridge, Rottnest; again in 1965 for The Red House; and in 1967 for Ravenswood I.

Collections

• Art Gallery of New South Wales including Sleeping Cat (1983), Summer night, Mullerup (1975), Lane at the Cross (1946), and Yetta (1919).
• Art Gallery of Western Australia
• Australian War Memorial including Native compound at Lae (1945), Surrender (1946), and Back Home (1946).
• Benalla Art Gallery
• Cbus Collection of Australian Art
• National Gallery of Australia including McElhone Stairs (1944), The Drovers (1947), and Saturday Morning (1948).
• National Gallery of Victoria including Kirribilli (1959), and The Law Court (1946).
• Newcastle Art Gallery
• Rockhampton Museum of Art

Exhibitions

Group

• Aspects of Australian Figurative Painting 1942-1962: Dreams, Fears and Desires, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney (1984), part of the 5th Sydney Biennale, painting exhibited: Reconstruction (1950)
• Swiss Artists in Australia: 1777-1991 Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (1991), paintings exhibited: Surry Hills Backyards (1958), Fremantle Brewery (1963), Ming (1963), Surry Hills Lane (1965), The Red House (1966), Balmain (1968), B.H.P. (1969), Summer Night, Mullerup (1975), Forum, Rome (1976), Sydney 1942 (1981), My World (1990).

Further reading

• Sali Herman by Daniel Thomas, Collins (1971) OCLC No. 37079520
• Swiss Artists in Australia 1777-1991 pp67-84 (exhibition catalogue), Art Gallery of NSW (1991)

References

External links

• Australian War Memorial
• listing of Herman's works at the National Gallery of Australia
• listing of Herman's works at the Art Gallery of NSW
• listing of Herman's works at the Australian War Memorial
• listing of Herman's works at the National Gallery of Victoria
• Australian Dictionary of Biography Herman entry