oil on canvas

Artwork date: 1948
Signature details: signed and dated top left; inscribed with the artist's name and the title on a Michael Stevenson label on the reverse

(1)

35 x 27.5 cm; framed size: 52 x 43.5 x 5.5 cm

Provenance:

Private collection, Cape Town.

Michael Stevenson, Cape Town.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

In 1931 a sitter for one of George Pemba’s portraits told him, “But I never thought you could paint souls!”.[1] Celebrated as “the painter of the people”, Pemba was more than just a portraitist, he was a compassionate observer, chronicling the joys and sorrows of daily life in his community. His works resonate with a deep understanding of his subjects, allowing us to bear witness to the quiet moments of his sitter’s lives.

Pemba’s desire to truly know and represent South Africans led him on a grand tour across the country in 1944, supported by the Bantu Welfare Trust.[2] On this journey, he sought to immerse himself in the landscapes and cultures of the people he encountered. He once shared, “This loan was intended to enable me to see the beautiful plains and mountains of my own land, as I felt I could no longer tolerate being shut up in an office. I longed to see the Zulus, from whence the Xhosas originated, and the Basutos, the original people”.[3] This profound respect for diverse South African identities is deeply embedded in his art, as he strove to capture, in his words, "the soul of the South African peoples in their natural surroundings”.[4]

Upon returning to his hometown of Port Elizabeth later that year, Pemba entered a period of prolific creativity and painting. Feeling he had come of age as an artist, he painted with fervour, striving to capture the vibrant scenes he had witnessed and the people he had encountered, often drawing from his extensive sketches.[5] Created in the years following this transformative journey, this 1948 portrait of a young Xhosa woman exemplifies Pemba’s gift for empathetic observation. She sits poised, adorned with traditional jewellery and facial markings that speak to her cultural heritage. Her almost coy gaze invites the viewer into her world. The warm, diffused light behind her perhaps suggests an illuminated doorway, framing her with dignity and presence.

Amy Carrington

^{[1] Sunday Times Heritage Project, George Pemba: Artist in the Wilderness. Available at https://sthp.saha.org.za/ memorial/george_pemba.htm.}

^{[2] Huddleston, S. (1996). Against All Odds. Jeppestown: Jonathon Ball Publishers. p.40.}

^{[3] Ibid.}

^{[4] Ibid.}

^{[5] Ibid. p.49.}

COLLECTOR'S NOTE

• 1948, the year in which, Portrait of an African Woman Wearing Beads, work was executed, also marked a turning point for Pemba, who, after a successful solo exhibition under the patronage of Dorothy Tomlinson, committed himself fully to painting.

• Pemba’s Garden of Eden, a work created in the same period as Portrait of an African Woman Wearing Beads, achieved a record price at auction in London 2010, reaching GBP 96 000.

• In 1966 Pemba was the subject of a large touring retrospective exhibition organised by the South African National Gallery, which was accompanied by a catalogue edited by Hayden Proud and Barry Feinberg. The same year saw the publication of a major monograph titled George Pemba: Against All Odds written by Sarah Hudleston.

• Pemba currently features in the prestigious, 60th International Art Exhibition, Foreigners Everywhere, at The Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa and running from 20 April – 24 November 2024.

• George Pemba featured in an important exhibition at the Norval Foundation from October 2021 – January 2022 titled Congress: The Social Body in Three Figurative Painters, focusing on works by three multigenerational South African painters – Trevor Makhoba, George Pemba and Sthembiso Sibisi.

^COLLECTIONS:

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the Cory Library for Historical Research, Rhodes University, Grahamstown; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Johannesburg Art Gallery and The World Bank Collection, Washington, DC.