Artist Database

Born in Grahamstown in 1956 and raised in Port Elizabeth, Anthony Keogh trained at the Lawson Brown School of Art before spending time as a touring guitarist and vocalist, travelling through South Africa, Mauritius and La Réunion. On his return he completed his military service and qualified as a shoe designer through the Leather Industries Research Institute.

In 1981, Keogh joined what is now the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum as a professional officer, training over several years as a restorer of easel paintings. He was later appointed as head conservator in 1989, a position he held until his retirement in 2021. Four decades of immersion in the visual arts sharpened his eye and deepened his own commitment to painting.

The diverse and vibrant fabric of South African society has long provided his subject matter. His earlier works reflect the tension and struggle of a nation in conflict, while his later paintings turn inward, exploring personal reckoning with equal candour and formal assurance.