UAE Royal family to acquire US$1.3 Million worth of Paintings by reclusive Anti Apartheid South African Female Atrist Helen Anne Petrie (1932-2006) via private treaty with The Strutt Family Trust (IT694/2002)

Published 2nd September 2009

FOLLOWING a recent article published by the Sunday Times of London which was defamatory, full of inaccuracies, unsubstantiated accusations & innuendo about a former South African who has sold paintings by an apparently "fake" South African artist to well-known British collections, International Collectors & via Auction Houses, physical evidence has been provided confirming female artist, poet & Anti Apartheid Activist, Helen Anne Petrie (1932-2006), had indeed existed as an artist, a VERY GOOD ONE AT THAT.

Among the many documents provided were the catalogues of an exhibition of the SA Association of Arts’ annual exhibition in Cape Town in November 1967.

Two paintings by the artist, then 35 years old, are listed.

In the same year she also exhibited at the Fish Hoek Arts Festival Etc.

Reports in the newspaper, Fish Hoek Echo, refer to paintings exhibited by the artist as a member of St Margaret’s Art Society from 1960.

During this tertiary period, Anne made 2 trips to Europe touring the leading galleries.

She was so eager to learn about Art, that at the end of her visits she had taken down some 2,300 pages of handwritten notes. Florence was her favourite city, then Rome, she noted. Returning to South Africa she began painting her first oils, & with tuition soon began to lay the foundation of what was to mature into her own, distinctive style.

Anne felt that at the time, the taste of small art-public was extremely backward & that there were too few discerning collectors & buyers, particularly in South Africa which was at that point still a British colony.

Anne did however exhibit in South Africa twice in 1967, the most important exhibition being from 30th October till 11th November at the South African Association of Artists Annual Exhibition at 63 Burg Street, Cape Town.

A leading Art Critic of the day, Johan van Rooyen stated her 3 works entitled respectively Indian Girl (Recently sold at Bonhams Auctioneers in London), Bantu Boy (SEE Image)& Late Afternoon, Kommetjie “should be hailed as proving the standard that is expected at an exhibition of this calibre”, which included works by fellow internationally, respected & collected artists I.Roworth, S.Butler, and V.Volschenk & L. Mears.

She declined to participate as the collection “did not possess that degree of inner unity it would have had if the collection had from the beginning been built up for the purpose of exhibition”.

Yet shy, introvert, emotionally imbalanced & disillusioned at the politics which clearly favoured predominantly male, Afrikaans artists as opposed to English-speaking females like herself, she stopped exhibiting at most major galleries & vehemently declined many invitations to sell her Art after that.

Anne noted in her personal diary in 1972 that 2 major schools of thought were apparent in the South African art world. One where artists identified with various aspects of their social, political, geographical & environmental conditions; the other with very close ties with international trends, often be related to Colonialism & the Empire.

This duality appeared to be the natural result of a “Nation” shaping & divorcing itself from its’ old rural & colonial character.

During the 1970’s 80’s & 1990’s Anne never tried to idealise her subjects. She always strove for the accurate representation of everyday, apparently casual or overlooked subjects.

Her devotion to her art, especially during her latter years was so great that she also infected her fellow artists, resulting in anti-art people being able to view art with greater respect & admiration.

In the Transvaal & in the Western Cape she discovered the destruction caused by the introduction of the Group Areas Act that stimulated her imagination. In Europe; mainly Italy and Scotland she sought the dream-world for which she deeply yearned.

Anne felt most at home in the Cape. Not only because she found relief there for her bodily ills, but in the autumns & winters there, had she re-discovered her homeland thus her identity? At the end of her life, Anne had amongst her closest friends & fellow artists, mainly local Cape Coloured & Malay inhabitants. These were the people with whom Anne felt she could really be herself: a plain, genuine woman who seldom made preparatory cause of her impulsive nature.

Anne Petrie, the woman, the benefactor, the pacifist, the friend…

The TRUE Matriarch of South African Female Artists.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS OF HER WORKS ARE PLANNED IN THE FALL IN THE HAMPTONS, CHELSEA AND MONTE CARLO

It has been confirmed in writing by all the below mentioned Royal Households that they do own works by Helen Anee Petrie

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II & H.R.H. Phillip, the Prince Consort of The United Kingdom
H.M. King Juan Carlos I & Queen Sofia of Spain
H.M. Kong Harald & H.M. Dronning Sonja of Norway
H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf & H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden
Her Majesty Queen Anne-Marie & H.R.H. Henrik, the Prince Consort of Denmark
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands
H.R.H King Constantine & H.M. Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
H.R.H Charles, Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall

The United Kingdom Press Complaints Commission is presently investigating the fabricated, inaccurate, defamatory allegations of an article about Miss Petrie, Mr. Strutt and Bonhams under UK PCC Case No 093340; Mr.Glenn Strutt and The Strutt Family Trust are being represented by Attorney Penelope E Meyer.