Artist Database

Born in Ireland, Dorothy Kay acquired her initial art training at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. After settling in Port Elizabeth in South Africa she became best known as a painter and portraitist, producing numerous quirky self-portraits, family portraits and 23 official portraits of the mayors of Port Elizabeth, as well as a number of perceptive works depicting men at work, for example, The Tanning Pits (1920s), Gold (c. 1936) and Salt (1940s). A master printmaker and illustrator, she produced more than 44 etchings over the course of her career and illustrated adventure stories in the weekly magazine Outspan for over eighteen years.