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Natasha Lane, née Lusty, was born in Osterwald, Germany in 1946. Her mother was of Ukrainian and Greek ancestry. She was transported to a concentration camp by the German army in 1942. When WW2 ended, mother and daughter stayed in Germany until being given political asylum in France in 1950. Natasha remained stateless until 1973 when she became a British citizen.
“Having initially spoken Russian at home and German outside until I was four, I now had to learn French - fast. My early life was certainly troubled: a refugee, stateless, moving from one language to another and not knowing my real father, whom I later discovered was British! But my mother looked after me well and encouraged me to draw.” |
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Natasha, painted by Claire Russell 1975
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At school, her talent to draw was soon discovered. Aged ten, Natasha won a bursary for her draftsmanship. Aged 16, Natasha was sent to a private school in Pau. A tutor from the École de Beaux Arts in Pau saw Natasha’s work and offered her a place at the art college. The next four years were spent studying under Madame Marounia Brun de la Serve and Madame Danjou. They taught in the French post-impressionist tradition. Natasha excelled, particularly in sculpture.
“Art school in Pau gave me an excellent grounding in drawing, painting and sculpture, something that seems to be optional in the contemporary teaching of art. It also hatched a lifelong ambition to make art my vocation.” After four years at art school in Pau, in 1966 Natasha moved to Paris, then to Alstermo in Sweden in the following year. By then she had married, becoming Natasha Trulsson. The following year she became a mother. The first paintings to emerge at this time were far removed from the French post-impressionist style in which she was trained. They were bold, brightly-coloured, broad-brush works. Natasha was also fortunate to have intimate access to an important collection of modern paintings at Holma owned by her new husband's stepfather, Haakon Onstad. These masterworks became a source of education and inspiration. “Like most young artists I was intent on being avant-garde. Although drawn to abstraction, I wanted to decorate the world and developed a neo-cubist style that suited, mixing and laying colour with a palette knife.” |
Wave, 80 x 100cm, 1973
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This initial exuberance soon evolved into a distinctive style. In Alstermo, Natasha successfully sold her work and was asked to give painting classes at evening school. She was also commissioned by the state to depict its two local industries of glass and paper making. Her first marriage did not last, and once again her life was turned upside down. In 1971 Natasha met and married Graham Lane, a British publisher. They lived in London, and Natasha soon had two more children to fit into a busy life. In 1973 the family moved to Hampshire, where she was drawn to a more traditional interpretation of landscape, and adopted the use of pen and ink and watercolour or pastel in her work.
“At this point I was forced to take stock of my career. I knew that I needed to renew my relationship with drawing; I needed to sketch more. This led me towards painting nature, something I responded to with both passion and awe.” 
Little Women, 1971, oil on canvas
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