Her books, painted book covers and bookplates
Text by Irene Below
The books in the library of the South African artist Irma Stern played a major part in her life. They were of great significance to her even beyond their intellectual content. They provided a clue the artist’s personality and her approach to life, and deeply influenced her artistic expression. She embellished many of her books with bookplates and covers of her own creation. These are now for the first time reproduced, in full colour, together with an in-depth study of this aspect of the artist by the German art historian, Dr Irene Below. Hidden Treasures Irma Stern was a small print run published in 2000 by the Society of Bibliophiles in Cape Town, an association whose members are interested in book collecting and the arts of the book. It is now a collectors’ item.
Hidden Treasures: Irma Stern
Dr Irene Below was born in Heidelberg, Germany and studied Art History, German Literature and Archeology in Munich, Cologne, Berlin and Florence. She taught Art History and Women’s Studies at the Oberstufen-Kolleg an der Universitat Bielefeld - the only liberal arts college in Germany at the time. Dr Below has published widely in her field of expertise.
