Bruce Arnott


Bruce Arnott was a South African sculptor, curator, educator and academic. He was a professor of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town's Michaelis School of Fine Art.

Early life

Arnott was born on 15 September 1938 in KwaZulu-Natal. He graduated from the University of Cape Town, where he earned a bachelor's degree followed by a master's degree in Fine Arts.

Career

Arnott was a prolific South African sculptor, predominantly making bronze sculptures. He also used "lead, resin, fibreglass, stone and wood."
Arnott's sculptures are represented in corporate collections across South Africa and in public art museums throughout the country, including the Iziko South African National Gallery, the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Durban Art Gallery, the Pretoria Art Museum, the Tatham in Pietermaritzburg and in the collections of NAPAC and PACOFS.
His work is also to be found on the campuses of the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, and the University of the Witswatersrand, as well as in the collections of the 1820 Foundation, the Rembrandt Foundation, the Oppenheimer Foundation.
Arnott worked at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town, appointed as the museum's first professional education officer before and serving as its assistant director from 1970 to 1972. He was a professor of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town's Michaelis School of Fine Art from 1978 to 2003, and he served as its director at one point.

Personal life and death

Arnott was married to Mari Lecanides-Arnott, with whom he had a son. He had a son and a daughter from his previous marriages.
Arnott died on July 19, 2018.