Nico Roos

Biography

Nico Roos was a South African painter and academic born in 1940. Raised in the Northern Cape's arid farmlands, he earned a PhD at the University of Pretoria, later heading that university's Fine Arts Department (1974–99). Roos exhibited steadily from the 1980s, holding over 20 solos. His Impressionist-influenced landscapes captured the muted tones of the Karoo and Namibia, reflecting both his homeland's scenery and the mentorship of artist Adolph Jentsch. He is notably remembered for three paintings featured in Clint Eastwood's film Invictus, after which two of them entered Eastwood's own collection. Roos's work remains respected in South African art circles for its educational legacy and atmospheric, evoked sense of place.