Ellen and David Chudy were a close friends of ‘Paterson of Cyrene’ since the early 50s.

Edward “Ned” (Edward) Paterson (1895–1974) was a priest and a legendary, pioneering art teacher in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He is known for founding Cyrene School near Bulawayo, and for introducing the Arts and Crafts style to Africans in both South Africa and Rhodesia. Some of his students were among the first professional African artists in Rhodesia. (source Wikepedia )

The connection goes back to the earliest days in Southern Rhodesia but in the latter years when he was in town he would turn up at the house unannounced (as was the norm for friends), full of stories intellectual conversation and with pockets full of sweets. In the early days people driving in remote areas would purchase wrapped boiled sweets to throw out of the windows to black kids as they passed. Ned Patterson had handfuls of them and he offered them to anyone.

One story: Ned Patterson talked of his time patrolling the Namibian desert on horseback in the military during World War I. Travelling in a group with fellow service men, he said “we never spoke a word to each other all day long”. In that pristine desert, “anything any of us might have said would have sounded like shit”, (against the backdrop of the pristine landscape).

Another memory: at the memorial gathering after the death of David Chudy in downtown Salisbury in 1967, Ned stood on a chair to address the assembled – summarizing David’s amazing creative life and then moving on to discuss how Ellen was such a ‘wonderful, wonderful woman’, having supported him for all those years. This part of the talk went on and on, with his speech becoming ever more passionate till he lost his balance and fell down from the chair. Uninjured he was helped to his feet but took it as a sign that his speech was over.

Paterson wide intellect, interests and sense of humor are reflected in his gift of Mottke the Thief, a novel by Sholem Aleichem, to Ellen and David.

Here are a few of the paintings of Cyrene kids from 1947-52