Artists

Alfred Richard Martin first studied architecture after leaving school and then attended the Liverpool School of Art, where he studied under the artist Augustus John, and later the Westminster School of Art in London, under Walter Sickert. Architectural applications were an ongoing part of his artistic practice and he completed commissioned murals, decorative panels and sculptural bas-reliefs for civic buildings, churches, ocean liners and the criminal courts of the Old Bailey, among other projects. Martin’s experience as a scenic painter for various London theatres led to a contract with African Theatres in South Africa in 1916. In 1919, he was appointed to the staff of the Natal University College, a post he held until his retirement in 1934. Martin's work was wide-ranging and eclectic, covering portraiture, ethographic studies and sculpture.