George Pemba (South Africa 1912-2001)
At the Clinic, recto; Preparatory drawing, verso

oil on canvas

Artwork date: 1993
Signature details: signed and dated top left; inscribed with the title on the reverse
Location: Cape Town
Exchange Rates*: USD 18 903 – 25 203
GBP 13 965 – 18 619
EURO 16 006 – 21 342

(1)

53.5 x 74.5 cm; framed size: 68.5 x 90 x 3.5 cm

Provenance:

Private collection, Cape Town.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

In 1931, at just nineteen years old, George Pemba was rushed to Victoria Hospital in Alice, Eastern Cape, after suffering a burst appendix. During his recuperation, to keep himself amused, he began sketching the doctors, nurses and fellow patients around him. Although he had already exhibited two portraits at the Feathermarket Hall in 1928, this period of enforced stillness offered something more significant: an early glimpse of the artist who would become known as “the people’s painter.” In drawing those who shared his vulnerability, Pemba demonstrated a remarkable sensitivity to the inner lives of his subjects.

Hospital and clinic scenes would continue to appear throughout his oeuvre, and At The Clinic (1993) revisits this deeply personal terrain. Painted toward the end of his life, the interior is modest and unembellished, yet animated by the quiet dignity of its occupants. Figures wait, converse and attend to one another, rendered in warm, earthy tones that soften the institutional setting and transform it into a space shaped by shared humanity. As in his earlier drawings, it is not spectacle that concerns Pemba, but the subtle exchanges between people: a gesture, a glance, a posture of fatigue or reassurance.

The painting was completed shortly after a pivotal moment in Pemba’s career. In 1991, Everard Read mounted a landmark one-man exhibition of his work, bringing long-overdue recognition and, for the first time, meaningful financial reward. This newfound stability allowed Pemba to purchase a new home with a dedicated studio space, the environment in which he likely created At The Clinic. The work thus emerges from a period of affirmation, yet it remains characteristically grounded in the lives of ordinary people. Even at a moment of personal success, Pemba’s gaze did not turn inward or upward; it remained attentive and empathetic to daily life.

COLLECTIONS:

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the Cory Library for Historical Research, Rhodes University, Grahamstown; the De Beers Centenary Art Gallery, Alice; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg and The World Bank Collection, Washington, D.C.