Francois Roux was born in Fort Victoria, Masvingo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1927.   He attended the Boys High School in Stellenbosch from 1940-1946. 

Having left school, in 1946 he moved to London to study at the Camberwell School of Art and travel around Europe, completing his studies at the Royal Academy Schools in 1951 and qualifying with a Diploma in Painting.

Whilst in London he participated in several group exhibitions. Returning to Zimbabwe he showed at the annual exhibitions held at the Rhodes Gallery. In 1967 he moved to South Africa with his wife, Margaret, and two sons, Paul and Theunis, settling in Rosebank, Cape Town.

Largely overlooked in the secondary market, Roux was a master draughtsman, known as a painter of landscapes, portraits and plant studies. He devoted his artistic career to developing his methods of observation using oils, tempera, watercolour, chalk and charcoal.

From 1970 to 1978, Roux served as a part time lecturer in painting at the Cape Technikon and continued to teach from his home.   As the years went by, he derived enormous pleasure from instructing and guiding the small groups who attended his studio, opening up his garage, if necessary, in order to accommodate the overflow.  His other interests included classical music and cooking, and he continued to enjoy travelling until his death in 2013.

EXHIBITIONS

1973, 1977, 1979, & 1986 Solo exhibitions at Art b Gallery (formerly the Bellville Branch of the South African Association of Arts in conjunction with the Friends of the Library)

1976, 1978, 1981, & 1984 Solo exhibitions at the Atlantic Gallery, Cape Town

1975: Solo exhibition at Ned Art in Claremont

1981: Participated in the Homage to Alfred Krenz Association of Arts Bellville Gala Opening in 1990.

2006: Art B exhibited with Conrad Theys, Herbert Coetzee & Johan Coetzee