Artist Database

Katrine Harries, a German-South African artist, played a crucial role in establishing the teaching of printmaking at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art. The print collection at the school is named after her, in recognition of her contribution. Harries, along with her mother, fled Nazi Germany for South Africa in 1939 and settled in Cape Town. Here she found work as an illustrator for magazines and books. In 1950, she became a part-time lecturer at Michaelis and was appointed full-time in 1960. Harries was a four time recipient of the South African Library Association’s Hoogenhout Award for best illustrated children’s book (1964, 1969, 1974, and 1977). The award was subsequently renamed the Katrine Harries Award. In 1973, she was awarded the South African Akademie Medal of Honour for Graphic Art. Harries participated in various exhibitions throughout her career, including the 1957 Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil and the 1964 Venice Biennale in Italy. In 1979, a Retrospective Exhibition was held in her honour at the South African National Gallery, Pretoria Art Museum, and Johannesburg Art Gallery.