Please note: Artists not classified as American in our database may have limited biographical data
compared to the extensive information about American artists.
 Clement Serneels, (1912, Belgium -1991)
An Impressionist painter, he was the brother of Antoine Serneels. Regarded as a brilliant student at the Brussels Academy, Serneels won a travel grant to the Belgian Congo in 1936. Slowly crossing the country from Matadi to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), he took the time to paint finished oil pictures at each stop, rather than just making sketches. Although he occasionally did portraits of chiefs, he was interested mainly in depicting African women. Serneels returned to the Congo in 1938, but on the outbreak of the Second World War, he sought refuge in Costermansville on Lake Kivu.
He spent some time in South Africa before returning to his home in Costermansville (now called Bukavu), in 1953. In 1960, he was forced to leave due to political troubles, and he eventually settled in Brussels.
Source:
The Strutt Family Trust, The Mayfair Collection (Suisse) SA, The Mayfair Collection (Pty) Ltd, The Mayfair Collection Limited
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