March 8, 2005
By Tabisa Mntengwana
SOME young artists sit in the foyer, others relax under the shade of the huge metal sculptures in the garden. This is the Johannesburg Art Gallery, and the talk, naturally, is of the works on display.
The gallery, in the centre of the city, has been a much-valued resource for art students and art lovers alike for more than 90 years. It was established in 1910 by Lady Florence Phillips, the wife of mining magnate Sir Lionel Phillips. She wanted to use the gallery to identify and promote talented young artists, while offering a cultural centre for Johannesburg society.
Phillips collected paintings, sculptures and other works of art for the gallery, which was first known as the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. At that time it was at the University of Witwatersrand; it moved to its present home in Joubert Park in 1915.
The Joubert Park building was designed by British architect Edwin Luyten and completed by South African architect Robert Howden. The first collection was put together by Phillips and the famous Irish art dealer, Sir Hugh Lane. He made a name for himself by buying paintings by contemporary British artists and was the first dealer to place French and British Impressionist paintings in public institutions.
Considered to be of a unique, avant-garde standard, the collection put together by Phillips and Lane included works by Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Auguste Rodin, Sir John Everett Millais, Phillip Wilson and Walter Richard Sickert. From these beginnings, it expanded to included Dutch and Flemish paintings of the seventeenth century; French and British paintings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; South African art by artists like Gerard Sekoto and Jackson Hlungwani; and contemporary international paintings and sculptures. A donation of more than 500 art prints from Howard Pimm forms the core of the print collection, which has more than 3 000 pieces.
Cultural collection
Traditional art and objects from southern Africa form a collection of great cultural significance, including the Brenthurst Collection and the Jacques Collection. Some of these works are on display, and pieces include old matchboxes, snuff tins, candlestick wrappers and painted wire items. In the gallery gardens, there is a collection of large sculptures, four of which were commissioned with funds from the Anglo American Johannesburg Centenary Trust.
According to Clive Kellner, the chief curator, the gallery caters for more than 100 000 people in the immediate neighbourhood. It has a coffee shop and a retail shop where visitors can buy books, exhibition catalogues, memorabilia and curios. "Visitors can sit and eat at the coffee shop, where light snacks and traditional food are served," Kellner says.
Now, young artists can see their work in the gallery, which has a range of activities on the go. Programmes include festivals, workshops, tours, art classes and exhibitions. The gallery also runs classes for adults and children, aimed at providing basic art education, problem solving skills and exposure to art.
"This programme has helped many up and coming artists and we are happy we are able to work with the youth," Kellner says.
A library and archive section has more than 6 000 art books, archival material, pamphlets and news cuttings, art and museum journals and videos. It is used by a wide range of researchers, students and curators.
For those who want more information, there are guided tours on request with trained voluntary tour guides for schools, technikons and university students, community centres and organisations, and any group of 10 people or more.
Permanent exhibitions include the art of George Pemba, Irma Stern and Gerard Sekoto and the SABC art collection. The upstairs floor is devoted to temporary exhibitions.
More than 64 000 people visited the Johannesburg Art Gallery last year, its highest attendance in a decade. "During exhibition openings attendance averages 500 to 750 visitors, and this makes us proud," Kellner says. "To show that we are making progress, in 2004 the gallery was nominated best gallery of the year in the Star Readers' Choice Awards."
Entrance is free; the gallery is open from 10am to 5pm on Tuesdays to Sundays. For more information, contact the Johannesburg Art Gallery on 011 725 3130.
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