About
This website brings together the work of South African artist Alex Wagner (1920–2006), drawing on the collection now held under the custodianship of Dr Des Fernandes and on an unusually rich body of material preserved by Wagner himself.
At its core are more than fifty original works that remained with Alex towards the end of his life and were subsequently entrusted to Des. These works are presented here as ‘Works in the Collection’.
Alongside them exists another record of Wagner’s artistic life. Throughout his career he photographed and documented his work, kept gallery invitations and press cuttings, retained images in albums and recorded aspects of his practice in an extensive personal journal. Many of the works appearing in those photographs are no longer with the collection and their present whereabouts are not known. Where they can be identified and placed within the chronology, they appear under the heading ‘Documented Works, Present Location Unknown’.
More than 180 works have thus far been identified and catalogued.
Together, these two bodies of material offer something more than a gallery of surviving paintings. They allow parts of Wagner’s artistic journey to be reconstructed across several decades, including works that might otherwise have disappeared from view altogether.
Visitors will encounter a distinctive, dated cartouche on each collection page, based upon the cartouche used by Wagner during that period.
The paintings are presented chronologically, decade by decade. There is deliberately very little commentary attached to individual works. Where information is known, the title, date, medium and dimensions are provided. No attempt has been made to explain what a painting means or to impose a particular interpretation upon it.
Wagner’s work spans several decades and ranges widely in subject and approach.
For those wishing to know more about the artist himself, a separate ‘Biography’ traces the principal events of his life and career.
The Journal
One of the most remarkable surviving elements of Wagner’s archive is his personal journal.
Its pages contain thoughts, records of exhibitions, photographs, references to works, observations and other material accumulated over many years. Selected parts of the journal are reproduced separately on this website and can be explored through the ‘Journal’.
The handwritten material that appears faintly within the background of the website is drawn from these pages.
An Evolving Record
This archive should not be regarded as complete.
Wagner’s paintings were exhibited, sold and dispersed during his lifetime, and many remain in private collections. Others are presently known only from photographs preserved in his albums and journal.
For that reason, throughout the website visitors are invited to contribute information about works they may own, recognise or know something about. A submission form available throughout the website allows photographs and information to be sent to the archive for consideration.
A painting presently listed as ‘Present Location Unknown’ may, through the knowledge of a collector or family member, eventually be located. Works not presently represented in the archive may also come to light.
In that sense, the website is intended to remain alive. As new information emerges, the record of Alex Wagner’s work can continue to grow.