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==Biography==
==Biography==
Sambo was born in [[Rusape]], where he lived until attending Cyrene Mission boarding school in the late 1950s. He received received art training there under Sam Songo, and later went to art school in Malawi. In 1959, he returned to Cyrene, where he taught art for a year.<ref>Elizabeth Morton, "Ned Paterson and the Cyrene Mission Tradition." 2003. https://www.academia.edu/6779249/Elizabeth_Morton_Ned_Paterson_and_the_Cyrene_Mission_Tradition</ref> In 1960 he quit that job to become the cartoonist for the ''Daily News'' in [[Salisbury]], which had a primarily African readership. Once in Salisbury he joined [[Frank McEwen]]'s [[Workshop School]], where he received further painting training. From early on in Salisbury he exhibited in annual competitions and other exhibitions organized by McEwen.<ref>F. McEwen. New African Talent: Salisbury May-June 1962 (Salisbury: National Gallery, 1962.</ref> Eschewing his mission background, he worked in oils and preferred to depict township scenes. As a jazz guitarist who played regularly in township shebeens, he often depicted the emerging urban party scene. These paintings moved away from straight realism, and their use of line and color was compared to Kokoschka. His job as Daily News cartoonist lasted for four years until the newspaper was banned.
Sambo was born in [[Rusape]], where he lived until attending Cyrene Mission boarding school in the 1940s (his work in the exhibition The Stars Are Bright is dated 1945). He received art training there under Sam Songo and Canon Edward (Ned) Paterson. Later, he went to art school in Malawi. In 1959, he returned to Cyrene, where he taught art for a year.<ref name=Morton>{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/6779249 |title=Ned Paterson and the Cyrene Mission Tradition|last1=Morton|first1=Elizabeth|date=2003|access-date=2020-10-08}}</ref> In 1960 he quit that job to become the cartoonist for the ''Daily News'' in [[Salisbury, Rhodesia|Salisbury]], which had a primarily African readership. Once in Salisbury he joined [[Frank McEwen]]'s [[Sculpture of Zimbabwe|Workshop School]], where he received further painting training. From early on in Salisbury he exhibited in annual competitions and other exhibitions organized by McEwen.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3334322 |jstor=3334322 |title=Return to Origins: New Directions for African Arts |year=1968 |last1=McEwen |first1=Frank |journal=African Arts |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=18–88 }}</ref><ref name=Sibanda>{{cite book |isbn=978-3866789371 |first1=D. |last1=Sibanda |first2=R. |last2=Chikukwa |first3=F.M.|last3=Chabata|first4=T.|last4=Matindike-Gondo|first5=Z. |last5=Mandangu |title=Insights on Art in Zimbabwe: Mawonero/umbono |page=38|publisher = Kerber Verlag|year = 2015}}</ref> Eschewing his mission background, he worked in oils and preferred to depict township scenes. As a jazz guitarist who played regularly in township shebeens, he often depicted the emerging urban party scene. These paintings moved away from straight realism, and their use of line and color was compared to [[Oskar Kokoschka]]. His job as Daily News cartoonist lasted for four years until the newspaper was banned.


In 1965 the former Cyrene headmaster, Ned Paterson, hired Sambo as an art instructor at Nyarutsetso school in Salisbury. Unfortunately, the marriage between the old-fashioned missionary and the fast-living Sambo proved short-lived. Sambo, hanging out at Job Kekana's art school in Rusape, began painting male and female nudes using the live models that were hired there. Paterson, scandalized, fired Sambo, who never had a full-time job again.
In 1965 the former Cyrene headmaster, Ned Paterson, hired Sambo as an art instructor at Nyarutsetso school in Salisbury. Unfortunately, the marriage between the old-fashioned missionary and the fast-living Sambo proved short-lived. Sambo, hanging out at Job Kekana's art school in Rusape, began painting male and female nudes using the live models that were hired there. Paterson, scandalized, fired Sambo, who never had a full-time job again.


From the late 1960s on, Sambo worked out of his father's store in Rusape. After gaining a reputation with a series of risque murals painted at various drinking establishments in the Salisbury area, a stream of White buyers flocked to his father's store to buy his works. Due to suspicions caused by the ongoing Chimurenga liberation conflict, Sambo was suspected of being a sell-out. Eventually, his sports car was sabotaged in 1977 by ZANU members, leading to his untimely death.<ref>Morton, "Ned Paterson and the Cyrene Tradition."</ref>
From the late 1960s on, Sambo worked out of his father's store in Rusape. After gaining a reputation with a series of risque murals painted at various drinking establishments in the Salisbury area, a stream of White buyers flocked to his father's store to buy his works. Due to suspicions caused by the ongoing Chimurenga liberation conflict, Sambo was suspected of being a sell-out. Eventually, his sports car was sabotaged in 1977 by ZANU members, leading to his untimely death.<ref name=Morton/>

Sambo's paintings are in the collections of the [[National Gallery of Zimbabwe]] and in many private collections.


Sambo's paintings are in the collections of the [[National Gallery of Zimbabwe]], the exhibition The Stars Are Bright<ref name=TheStarsAreBright>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestarsarebright.com |title=The Stars Are Bright}}</ref> and in many private collections. Two are in the [[MoMA]].
==References==
==References==
*[http://www.nationalgallery.co.zw/html/permanentcollection/artists/sambo.html Biographical sketch]
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Sambo, Kingsley
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Rhodesian artist
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1936
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1977
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sambo, Kingsley}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sambo, Kingsley}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century painters]]
[[Category:Rhodesian guitarists]]
[[Category:Rhodesian guitarists]]
[[Category:Rhodesian painters]]
[[Category:Rhodesian painters]]
[[Category:Zimbabwean cartoonists]]

Latest revision as of 17:31, 13 August 2023

Kingsley Sambo (1936–1977) was a Rhodesian painter and cartoonist.

Biography

[edit]

Sambo was born in Rusape, where he lived until attending Cyrene Mission boarding school in the 1940s (his work in the exhibition The Stars Are Bright is dated 1945). He received art training there under Sam Songo and Canon Edward (Ned) Paterson. Later, he went to art school in Malawi. In 1959, he returned to Cyrene, where he taught art for a year.[1] In 1960 he quit that job to become the cartoonist for the Daily News in Salisbury, which had a primarily African readership. Once in Salisbury he joined Frank McEwen's Workshop School, where he received further painting training. From early on in Salisbury he exhibited in annual competitions and other exhibitions organized by McEwen.[2][3] Eschewing his mission background, he worked in oils and preferred to depict township scenes. As a jazz guitarist who played regularly in township shebeens, he often depicted the emerging urban party scene. These paintings moved away from straight realism, and their use of line and color was compared to Oskar Kokoschka. His job as Daily News cartoonist lasted for four years until the newspaper was banned.

In 1965 the former Cyrene headmaster, Ned Paterson, hired Sambo as an art instructor at Nyarutsetso school in Salisbury. Unfortunately, the marriage between the old-fashioned missionary and the fast-living Sambo proved short-lived. Sambo, hanging out at Job Kekana's art school in Rusape, began painting male and female nudes using the live models that were hired there. Paterson, scandalized, fired Sambo, who never had a full-time job again.

From the late 1960s on, Sambo worked out of his father's store in Rusape. After gaining a reputation with a series of risque murals painted at various drinking establishments in the Salisbury area, a stream of White buyers flocked to his father's store to buy his works. Due to suspicions caused by the ongoing Chimurenga liberation conflict, Sambo was suspected of being a sell-out. Eventually, his sports car was sabotaged in 1977 by ZANU members, leading to his untimely death.[1]

Sambo's paintings are in the collections of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the exhibition The Stars Are Bright[4] and in many private collections. Two are in the MoMA.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Morton, Elizabeth (2003). "Ned Paterson and the Cyrene Mission Tradition". Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  2. ^ McEwen, Frank (1968). "Return to Origins: New Directions for African Arts". African Arts. 1 (2): 18–88. doi:10.2307/3334322. JSTOR 3334322.
  3. ^ Sibanda, D.; Chikukwa, R.; Chabata, F.M.; Matindike-Gondo, T.; Mandangu, Z. (2015). Insights on Art in Zimbabwe: Mawonero/umbono. Kerber Verlag. p. 38. ISBN 978-3866789371.
  4. ^ "The Stars Are Bright".