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Marlene Dumas

Marlene Dumas, South African painter

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Born
August 3, 1953
Age in 2026
73
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1953

About Marlene Dumas

Marlene Dumas is a South African artist and painter based in the Netherlands. In May 2025, Dumas's painting Miss January (1997) — a portrait of a blonde woman nude from the waist down — sold for $13.6 million at a Christie's auction, which set a new record for a living female artist. Dumas was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Antwerp. The 2004 sale of Dumas's Jule-die Vrou (1985) positioned her as one of three living female artists to trade for over $1 million. In December 2025, Marlene Dumas became the first contemporary female artist to be included in the permanent collection of the Musée du Louvre, with her nine-part painting series Liaisons installed in the Gallery of the Five Continents (Denon Wing).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Marlene Dumas timeline

  1. The 2004 sale of Dumas's Jule-die Vrou (1985) positioned her as one of three living female artists to trade for over $1 million.
  2. In May 2025, Dumas's painting Miss January (1997) — a portrait of a blonde woman nude from the waist down — sold for $13.6 million at a Christie's auction, which set a new record for a living female artist.
  3. In December 2025, Marlene Dumas became the first contemporary female artist to be included in the permanent collection of the Musée du Louvre, with her nine-part painting series Liaisons installed in the Gallery of the Five Continents (Denon Wing).

The world when Marlene Dumas was born

Marlene Dumas was born in 1953. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1953

  • #1 song"Doggie in the Window" – Patti Page
  • Top movieFrom Here to Eternity
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookCasino Royale – Ian Fleming

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentEdmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summit Mount Everest
  • Top headlineCoronation of Queen Elizabeth II
  • Technology milestoneWatson and Crick discover the structure of DNA
  • Defining fadTV dinners
  • Notable inventionTV dinner
  • World population2.68 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population159.0M

1953 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Marlene Dumas's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19532026
Gas$0.29$3.45/gal
Average home$9,500$435,000
Average income$5,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.60$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population159.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.