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Berenice Sydney
Berenice Sidney Cagnoni in front of one of her paintings, London, 1972.jpg
Sydney in front of one of her paintings, London, 1972 (Photograph by Romano Cagnoni)
Born
Berenice Frieze

1944
Esher, Surrey, England
Died 1983 (aged 38–39)
Nationality British
Education Central School of Art and Design
Known for Painting, printmaking
Spouse(s)
Romano Cagnoni
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1983)​

Berenice Sydney (1944–1983), also known as Berenice Frieze, was a talented British artist. She created many artworks from 1964 until she passed away in 1983. Her art included paintings, drawings, and printmaking (making art by printing images). She also made children's books, designed costumes, and performed.

After she died, a special show of her art was held at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1984. She also had solo shows in places like Italy, Abu Dhabi, and Switzerland. Her work is still shown in art exhibitions today. You can find her art in over 100 private and public collections around the world.

Grave of Berenice Frieze in Highgate Cemetery
Berenice Sydney's grave in Highgate Cemetery

About Berenice Sydney's Life

Berenice Sydney was born in Esher, Surrey, England, in 1944. From age six, she went to the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in London. She loved art and movement from a young age.

Early Life and Education

Berenice started studying ballet with Marie Rambert when she was young. She also learned to play classical guitar with Adele Kramer. As an adult, she kept dancing. She trained at the Dance Centre in Covent Garden. She also attended flamenco dance studios in London and New York City.

Berenice was very smart and loved to learn. She read classic books and studied mythology. She could speak five languages fluently! She went to the Central School of Art and Design. But she decided to leave formal art school. Instead, she opened her own art studio in Chelsea.

Later Life and Legacy

Berenice Sydney was married to the Italian photographer Romano Cagnoni for a time. She showed her art in over 40 exhibitions during her life. Sadly, she passed away at 39 years old from an asthma attack. She is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London. Her father, Joseph Sydney Frieze, was a documentary filmmaker. He passed away a few months later and is buried with her.

Berenice Sydney's Art Career

Berenice Sydney was part of many group art shows. She also had eleven solo exhibitions. In 1974, she was chosen to represent Britain at an art event in Florence, Italy. The next year, she showed her unique "stained-glass effect" paintings. These were displayed at the McAlpine Gallery in the Ashmolean Museum.

Her first professional art show was at the Drian Galleries in 1968. This show included paintings like Susanna and the Elders with Charlie the Pigeon. She also showed Coffee Pot and 3 Yellow Flowers and The Drummer Boy.

Exploring Different Art Themes

Berenice started showing her works on paper in 1968. These included pieces like Dancing Nymphs and The Marriage of Psyche and Eros. She often explored themes from different cultures. She used ideas from Persian mythology and Christian symbols. She also referenced Ancient Egyptian art. She even created a hieroglyph (an ancient Egyptian picture-symbol) of her own professional name.

Painting Style and Development

Sydney's painting style changed over time. She started with more realistic art. Then, her work became more abstract. She created tiny, detailed "Persian Garden" designs. These were miniatures with natural colors. They later became abstract etchings. Some of these were called Bakhtiari and The Sultan's Garden. She showed these in 1969.

From 1973, her oil paintings on canvas also became more abstract. Her figures changed from clear shapes to many-sided forms. These forms showed movement using hundreds of colors and shapes. Her later paintings were part of a series. They were based on natural shapes, like leaves. These shapes gave a strong structure to her large paintings. She used bright colors and swirling designs. This helped her show how movement feels in art. Her work in this area is similar to later art by Bridget Riley.

Printmaking Techniques

Berenice Sydney loved to experiment with different art materials. She made etchings and engravings on steel, copper, and perspex. She was influenced by artist Stanley William Hayter. Her etchings often used many colors on one printing plate. She also created aquatints and lithographs. For these, she used a separate plate for each color. She also did a lot of serigraphy (screen printing). Her screen prints were first shown in 1974.

Drawing and Children's Books

Sydney's drawings often used acrylic and oil pastels, and ink with a brush. She made a series of works on Gemini paper. She also created very detailed pen drawings. These drawings mixed calligraphy (beautiful handwriting) with figures in a funny way. An example is Pen drawing with Jester from 1976.

Berenice also wrote and illustrated children's books. One was called Book of Nonsense Verse (later Book of Fools). She dedicated it to April Fool's Day. A page from this book, with a poem called The Ant who Danced and Pranced, is in a special exhibition catalog. The illustrations for Book of Fools were aquatints. They were etched in a very delicate style. The book was written in both French and English. The Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris bought the French version of A Book of Fools in 1982. They also bought some of her earliest etchings. Berenice even made an audio recording of herself reading Book of Fools. She performed with castanets and Gypsy Flamenco musicians.

Exhibitions

Berenice Sydney's art was shown in many places. Here are some of her exhibitions.

Exhibitions During Her Lifetime (1968–1982)

  • 1968
    • Drian Galleries, First One Person Show, London
    • Leicester Galleries, Group Show, London
    • Edinburgh Festival Costume Designs for Workshops Production of Clown - Televised, Grampian Productions
    • Magdelene Street Gallery. Group Show, Cambridge
  • 1969
    • Traverse Theatre Gallery, Group Show, Edinburgh
    • Lumley Cazalet Gallery, Group Show, London
    • Camden Arts Centre Group Show, London
    • Tib Lane Gallery, Group Show, Manchester
    • Royal Institute Galleries, Group Show F.I.B.A., London WI
  • 1971
    • International Student House, One Person Show, London
    • Leicester Galleries. Group Show, London WI
    • Richard Demarco Gallery, Group Show, Edinburgh
    • Tib Lane Gallery, Group Show, Manchester
  • 1972
    • Galleria Stellaria One Person Show, Florence
    • Zella 9 Gallery, Group Show, London
    • Art in Steel Exhibition, Group Show, Millbank, London
    • F.B.A. Galleries, Group Show, London SWI
    • Magdelene Gallery, Group Show, Cambridge
  • 1973
  • 1974
    • Education Gallery, One Person Show, Leeds City Art Gallery
    • Willis Museum and Art Gallery. One Person Show, Basingstoke
    • Biennale della Grafica d'Arte, Florence, Italy representing Great Britain
    • Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington, One Person Show
  • 1975
  • 1976
  • 1982
    • The Society of Graphic Artists
    • Hampstead Artists Council
    • Free Painters and Sculptors
    • Chelsea Art Society

Exhibitions After Her Death (1984 Onward)

  • 1984
    • Salute to Berenice Royal Academy. One Person Show, London
    • Exhibition of British Art, Abu Dhabi Group Show
    • Exhibition of British Art, Gulf of Bahrain, Group Show
    • British Council Paris, Group Show
    • Centenary Exhibition, Leicestershire Museum and Art Gallery, Group Show
  • 1985
    • Homage à Berenice Sydney, Edwin Engelberts Galerie d'Art Contemporain, One Person Show, Geneva
  • 1986
    • Christmas Exhibition' Lumley Cazalet Fine Art, Group Show, London
  • 1987
    • Berenice Sydney, Gallery of British Contemporary Art, One Person Show, Lausanne
  • 1988
  • 1989
    • Women in Art, Bowmoore Gallery, Group Show, London
  • 1990
    • Contemporary British Artists, Waterman Fine Art, Group Show, London
  • 1991
    • The London Original Print Fair, Royal Academy of Art, London
    • Represented by Lumley Cazalet
    • From Fautrier to Rainer, La Galerie Michel Foex, Group Show, Geneva,
    • including Henri Michaux, Brice Marden, Ben Nicholson, Jean Fautrier
  • 1992
    • Homage to the British Artist Berenice Sydney, Galerie Nelly L'Epattenier, One Person Show, Lausanne
  • 1993
    • Homage à Berenice, L'Exemplaire, Geneva, One Person Show
    • The London Original Print Fair, The Royal Academy of Art, Represented by Peter Black
  • 1994
    • Berenice Sydney, L'Exemplaire, Geneva, One Person Show
  • 1995
    • Art'95 Contemporary British Art Fair, London
    • Milan, Book Print Fair Group
    • The Chelsea Art Society Group Exhibition
    • A private exhibition of rare and original European prints 18th-20th century at Austin Desmonds, Campbell Fine Art
    • Magnat Gallery, London
  • 1996
    • L'Exemplaire, Geneva, One person show
  • 1998
    • Girls, Girls, Girls, Deborah Bates Gallery, London
  • 2002
  • 2006
    • Watercolours and Drawings Fair, James Kinmont Fine Art and John Iddon Fine Art, Royal Academy, London
    • Chelsea Art Fair, John Iddon Fine Art, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London
    • Exhibition 9 paintings from the Orbit series, Modern British Artists, London
  • 2008
    • Watercolours and Drawings Fair, Modern Works on Paper, James Kinmont Fine Art, Royal Academy, London
    • Chelsea Art Fair, John Iddon Fine Art, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London
  • 2010
    • 20/21 British Art Fair, John Iddon Fine Art, Royal College of Art, London

Public Collections

Berenice Sydney's art is held in many public collections. This means museums, galleries, and other institutions own her work.

Museums and Galleries

Public and University Collections

Corporate and Commercial Collections

  • James Walter Thompson London
  • First National Bank of Boston
  • Chase Manhattan Bank
  • Stellaria Galleria, Florence
  • Pallas Gallery
  • Lumley Cazalet Gallery
  • Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford
  • Drian Galleries, London
  • Butler Miller
  • Wilkin Warburton
  • World Graphics
  • Hilton Hotels

Private Collections

  • John Jacobs, Curator of Historic Museums and Director of the Iveagh Bequest Kenwood House London
  • Galeria Peters, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Private Collections, San Francisco, California, USA
  • Private Collection, Washington D.C., USA
  • Private Collection, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Private Collection, New York City, USA
  • Private Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Patrick Cramer, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Michel Foex, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Darius Dabatabay, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Lady Noel Annesly, England
  • Christopher Johnston Collection, England
  • Mr. and Mrs. Hariton Embiricos, Greece
  • Sueo Mitsuma, Tokyo
  • Lord Alistair McAlpine, England
  • Linda Talbot, England
  • 4 Private Collections, Sydney, Australia
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