Adela Ber Vukić
Quick Facts
Biography
Adela Ber (30 December 1888 – 28 October 1966) was the first female artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina to be educated at an art school and a pioneer of women's rights in her country. Topics of her works include portraits, still life and Bosnian landscapes.
Early life
Ber was born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1888. Her mother hailed from Livno.
Education
After completing higher girls' school in Sarajevo, Ber aspired to become a teacher. Ber left for Vienna in 1908, enrolling in a private art school, then a private women's art school in 1910. During her studies in Vienna she lived difficulty and was unable to get a scholarship because she was a woman and the state felt that money spent on educating women was "thrown away". Owing to great talent, a college professor at the Vienna school decided to grant Ber a free education.
Career
After graduating in June 1914, she returned to Sarajevo with hopes of opening a private painting school. World War I broke out later that same month when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The outbreak of war made it impossible for Ber to open a painting school. Ber organized her first solo art exhibit in Sarajevo after the First World War in 1919.
Ber died in 1966, aged 77.