Published 30 May 2022 in Insights
Artthrob
'Marilyn Martin, former director of the South African National Gallery, passes'
Artthrob - News
Published 23 May 2022
Today we honour the life of Marilyn Martin, who passed away on Sunday, 22 May 2022 after a battle with cancer.
Martin was an art and architectural historian with a research interest in early twentieth century modernism. A lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand and the former President of the SAAA, Martin took on the role of director of the South African National Gallery in 1990. In the Gallery’s 1992 mission statement, she wrote:
'We believe that we are doing more than passively holding up a mirror to society, that we inform, construct, change and direct the narrative – aesthetically, culturally, historically, politically – through our acquisitions and exhibitions, that we invigorate art practice and that the national art museum is integral to refiguring and reinventing South African art and identity.'
During her tenure at the Gallery, Martin initiated several projects to redress past injustices and transform future policy. She broadened the acquisitions policy to include works not traditionally defined as ‘fine art,’ such a beadwork, ceramics, textile, photography, cartoon drawings and architectural design; she ensured more transparency in the Gallery’s operations; she repatriated artefacts and artworks (including some 2000 works by Gerard Sekoto); and she instigated public consultation and participation in the planning of exhibitions, most notably by making the museum free.1
Martin was appointed director of Art Collections for Iziko Museums in 2001. She was a member of the National Arts Council from 1997 to 2004 and a trustee of the Arts and Culture Trust until 2007. Following her retirement from Iziko in 2008, she served on the Council of Iziko Museums from 2010-2013.
Martin curated numerous exhibitions of South African art around the world, including Mali (1994 and 1996), Denmark (1996), France (1997), the USA (2002 and 2003) and for the 2002 São Paulo Bienal. She co-curated 'Picasso and Africa' at the Gallery in 2006 and the Louis Maqhubela Retrospective at the Standard Bank Gallery in 2010.
In 2002, Martin was admitted to the Legion of Honour of the Republic of France at the rank of Officer and in 2013 she received the medal of the Fondation Alliance Française in Paris.
Martin wrote numerous articles on art, culture and architecture in academic journals, exhibitions catalogues, books, magazines and newspapers. She was the author of 'Between Dreams and Realities: A History of the South African National Gallery, 1871-2017', a chronicle of the Gallery’s history from within and outside the institution.
A key figure in the transformation of the South African art world in the post-apartheid years, she will be missed.
To view the original article please navigate to the Artthrob website here
Image Credit: Marilyn Martin. Photograph by Carine Beyer.