Cecil Kenneth Baker (artist)
Encyclopedia
Cecil Kenneth Baker was a South Africa
n artist
.
Kenneth, as he is better known, was born at Harfield Road, Claremont, Cape Town
, South Africa, which was, at the time of his birth, a predominantly working class
suburb.
It appears that he received very few years of formal schooling, and was self-taught as an artist, but was encouraged by his father, who earned his living as a house painter.
Kenneth grew up under the pall of South African apartheid. His suburb of birth was a target of the government of the time's policy of forced removals, where thousands of families were relocated to other areas, based on racial segregation
. Baker's family was amongst those moved.
His style, is described as impressionist
and expressionist
. He painted landscapes, city scenes, figures and still-lifes. His work has an evocative simplicity, and often touches themes such as poverty
and everyday pleasures. He painted many street scenes of life in District Six
, a once vibrant and colourful suburb that was eventually demolished by the authorities as the final stage of another forced removal. Baker is recognised as one of the relative few who captured something of the spirit of District Six in a creative medium.
Kenneth married Joan, a storyteller, and they had four children. Joan describes the tension between the economic demands of raising a family and his desire to be a full-time artist. One of his earlier known employments was as a sign-writer in the Cape docks, a setting where he undoubtedly received some inspiration for the subjects of his painting
s.
He enjoyed some renown during his life, holding one-man and group exhibitions, but sold his work at relatively low prices, enjoying the fact that this made it more accessible. Since Kenneth died in 1996, his works have been attracting increasing interest, and he appears in many Cape art collections.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Kenneth, as he is better known, was born at Harfield Road, Claremont, Cape Town
Claremont, Cape Town
Claremont is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated six miles south of the city, and is one of the so-called "Southern Suburbs". It is an important commercial and residential area, which is currently experiencing significant growth and development.-History:Until the arrival of Dutch...
, South Africa, which was, at the time of his birth, a predominantly working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
suburb.
It appears that he received very few years of formal schooling, and was self-taught as an artist, but was encouraged by his father, who earned his living as a house painter.
Kenneth grew up under the pall of South African apartheid. His suburb of birth was a target of the government of the time's policy of forced removals, where thousands of families were relocated to other areas, based on racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. Baker's family was amongst those moved.
His style, is described as impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
. He painted landscapes, city scenes, figures and still-lifes. His work has an evocative simplicity, and often touches themes such as poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and everyday pleasures. He painted many street scenes of life in District Six
District Six, Cape Town
District Six is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. It is best known for the forced removal of over 60,000 of its inhabitants during the 1970s by the apartheid regime....
, a once vibrant and colourful suburb that was eventually demolished by the authorities as the final stage of another forced removal. Baker is recognised as one of the relative few who captured something of the spirit of District Six in a creative medium.
Kenneth married Joan, a storyteller, and they had four children. Joan describes the tension between the economic demands of raising a family and his desire to be a full-time artist. One of his earlier known employments was as a sign-writer in the Cape docks, a setting where he undoubtedly received some inspiration for the subjects of his painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s.
He enjoyed some renown during his life, holding one-man and group exhibitions, but sold his work at relatively low prices, enjoying the fact that this made it more accessible. Since Kenneth died in 1996, his works have been attracting increasing interest, and he appears in many Cape art collections.