The idea for this particular visit came from my friend Morag, whose work includes liaising with the Irma Stern Museum, which is governed by the University of Cape Town and the Irma Stern Trust. She very kindly offered to ask the Director, Christopher Peter, whether he might be willing to give me a private guided tour of the Museum and he equally kindly agreed - and said he would also provide coffee and cake. Bliss!
The Museum was established in 1971 and aims to promote an understanding and appreciation of the life, work and travels of Irma Stern, a major South African artist, by displaying a collection of her art and artefacts in her home in Rosebank just outside the centre of Cape Town, where she lived for almost 40 years until her death in 1966.
Irma was born in 1894 to German Jewish parents in what was then the Transvaal (now the North West Province of South Africa). Her father was interned during the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) because of his pro-Boer sympathies. Her mother took her and her younger brother to Cape Town and after her father was released, the family went to Germany, where they stayed until returning to settle in Cape Town in 1920. During this period they travelled regularly between the two countries and in parts of Europe. This pattern of frequent and extensive travel characterised the rest of Irma's life.
In 1912 she started formal art studies in Berlin and - through the support of the Expressionist, Max Pechstein - held her first solo exhibition there four years later. Although successful in Europe, her work was initially derided as ugly when she returned to live in Cape Town and it wasn’t until the 1940s that she achieved success in South Africa too. Much of her work was portraiture, with paintings generally completed in only one sitting. Examples can be seen in the photo below, behind Christopher and me, in the dining room:
Irma was a very versatile artist, working in a wide range of media and producing ceramics and sculpture as well as paintings. Some of her sculpture can be seen in the garden as well as inside the house:
She also, rather like the Bloomsbury artists, decorated many of her cupboards and other furniture:
Her studio includes a number of her ceramics and paintings, as well as artefacts in wood and fabric that she collected on her travels, particularly in the Congo, Zanzibar and southern Africa during the Second World War, when travel to Europe was difficult. Some of these, including the striped plate which you can see on the second shelf of the cupboard on the left in the photo below, feature as props in her paintings:
Like most of the house, the studio gives the impression that Irma has only just left the room and there is an almost palpable feeling of her presence. She had a powerful and vibrant personality, which is reflected throughout her home. Everywhere, from floor to ceiling - not just in the rooms but in the passageways too - there are her vividly coloured paintings and African wooden carved objects collected by her. Even her front door was picked up on one of her trips to Zanzibar:
Inevitably not all her work can be displayed and it was a particular pleasure to be shown some of the paintings that Kathy, a consultant working at the Museum for the Irma Stern Trust, is busy researching and listing. Irma was a prolific artist, who held more than a hundred solo exhibitions, and it must feel at times like an almost endless challenge but it's clear that Kathy is undaunted.
Irma had a complex personality, which for me adds to the interest of seeing her work, particularly the portraits. She was physically very large and seems to have expanded steadily over the years, assisted by copious quantities of sachertorte and regular entertaining. She was unsparing in her comments on others, which perhaps accounts - as well as her skill - for the preponderance of single-sitting portraits. Sadly her marriage in 1926 (ironically, on 1 April) to her former tutor was a disaster - not of her making - and ended in divorce a few years later. She never married again. Fortunately, however, her zest for life remained undimmed.
After a wonderful time exploring the Museum, enjoying the extensive knowledge and expertise of Christopher and Kathy, we - Morag, my husband Peter and me - repaired with them to the dining room for coffee. Christopher had excelled himself and provided not only the promised cake (caramel - yum!) but also egg sandwiches with the crusts removed and scones with delicious apricot jam. Also with us, though not in the photo below, was the cat Clarissa. She has recently decided to move in during the daytime and reclines on the settee, looking rather splendid.
A little later, and before we had started tucking in, we were joined by Lucinda (the Administrator) and Mary (the Curator). In the photo below, Kathy is at the head of the table, with Lucinda next to her, then Morag and Mary. It was a very jolly gathering and I felt so lucky to be part of it.
The Museum is a real gem and I would urge anyone who has the opportunity, to visit it - even if cake is not an option.
No comments:
Post a Comment