Peter Bonney Bio

Peter Bonney Bio

Peter Bonney was born in the Strand in the Western Cape but his formative years were in Kwa Zula Natal. Initially in Bergville, a small country town in the Northern Drakensberg area of South Africa, and then in Durban where he matriculated from Durban Boys High School in 1970.

As much as Peter loved his art at school, and matriculated with art as one of his major subjects, he didn’t ever study art post matric. Instead he studied chemistry and moved up the corporate ladder in the polyurethanes industry. After ten years he eventually came to terms with the fact that, in that industry, and in the corporate world, he was your typical “square peg in round hole”. In 1981 he leapt off the corporate ladder to follow his heart… painting!!

Circumstances lead him to Chris Crake of the Crake Gallery in Johannesburg. Crake “put him on the map” so to speak. His art career took off and his enigmatic Karoo landscapes, in his unique realist style, soon became popular among private and corporate collectors alike. He hasn’t looked back since!

Sadly, in 2012 Crake passed away. The Crake Gallery closed and Peter was picked up by Cherie De Villiers of Cherie De Villiers gallery, which has become his primary outlet. He also sells his own work from his Clarens studio gallery.

As at 2024 he has held 28 one man shows and participated in 49 group shows in various galleries and locations.

His works hang in innumerable reputable collections both private and corporate locally and internationally.