Mrs Esme Berman was born in 1929 and studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and Trinity College, London. She is a distinguished art critic and historian, and was involved in a great number of art projects. She was the founder of the Children's Art Centre in Johannesburg, Director of the Art Institute South Africa, executive member of the S.A. Association of Arts, professional adviser to the Rembrandt van Rijn Art Foundation and permanent art critic to the SABC and various journals. She was the selector and adjudicator for various national and international art exhibitions, and the author of 'Art and Artists of South Africa' and other books and articles.

Mrs Berman is now living in the USA.