Lot 21: Carl Adolph Büchner (South African, 1921-2003) Portrait of Nadia Nerina

Carl Adolph Büchner (South African, 1921-2003)
Portrait of Nadia Nerina signed 'Buchner' (upper left); inscribed 'Nadia in a green hat' (verso)oil on canvas101 x 60cm (39 3/4 x 23 5/8in).

This portrait depicts the South African ballerina, Nadia Nerina (1927-2008). Born in Bloemfontein, Nerina's dance training began after her family moved to Durban in 1939. Here she studied under Eileen Keegan (a contemporary of Pavlova) and Dorothea McNair. The young girl demonstrated so much promise that both teachers soon advised that she be sent to London for further training.Aged 17, Nerina came under the wing of the internationally renowned Marie Rambert. It was with the Rambert Company that she Nerina watched her first professional ballet performance at the Lyric in Hammersmith. During this period, Nerina also took classes at the Sadler's Wells school. She joined the Wells company full time in 1947, where she quickly ascended the corps de ballet.She reached the height of her fame in the late 1950s when she danced the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. A journalist covering the performance in the Guardian wrote that "her precision and neatness of footwork are unrivalled in the Royal Ballet".Büchner was both a fan and friend of Nerina. In this portrait, he depicts her as he would a close personal acquaintance rather than indicating her professional persona.