Mother and Child

Mother and Child (1980) in bronze by the Italian-born South African artist Edoardo Villa (1915-2011). The University of Pretoria has one of the most extensive Villa Collections. Villa worked primarily in steel, plaster and bronze, and his works are reminiscent of abstract art and cubism. Short Biography: Edoardo Daniele Villa was born on 31 May 1915 in Bergamo, Italy. He studied at the Andrea Fortini Art School under Minotti, Barbieri and Lodi, and his studies brought him to significant art cities such as Milan and Rome. In 1939, Villa was conscripted into the Italian Army and was wounded in 1940 in Egypt at the Battle of Sidi Barrani during the Second World War. Villa was taken prisoner and was subsequently brought to South Africa as a prisoner of war and was interned at the Zonderwater Prisoner of War (POW) Camp near Pretoria. Villa was released in 1947 and remained in South Africa, where he practised his art as a sculptor. Villa adopted his new country and became one of the most noted and accomplished abstract sculptors of his time. In 1965, Villa married Claire Zafeirakou, his life companion, until she passed away in November 2010. Edoardo Villa lived in Johannesburg until his death on 1 May 2011.