3

The Sponsor 5Daniël Kriel, CEO: Sanlam Private Investments

Rust-en-Vrede, the Organiser 7Monica Ross, Curator: Rust-en-Vrede Gallery

Introduction 9Stefan Hundt, Head: Sanlam Art Advisory Service and Curator: Sanlam Art Collection

The Judges 11Biographies of the three judges

National Portrait Award Winner 12

Selected portraits 15Judges’ selection of portraits on exhibition

Acknowledgements 55

Index 56

CONTENTS

5

Portraiture has played a defining role in capturing the mood and prevailing social mores of the time. In South Africa itself, the art genre has had a rich, and at times controversial, history that reflects the country’s social and political evolution.

It was within this context that we were proud to partner with the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville, Western Cape, to create the first South African National Portrait Award, the results of which you can enjoy in this catalogue.

We know art is a passion for many of our clients, and it is of increasing investment interest. We aim to be instrumental in encouraging the emergence of new local artistic talent, which we believe this competition will do.

The winner of the award receives a generous prize of R100 000 and is afforded the opportunity to showcase their work, along with 39 other selected works, at the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery after the awards ceremony. These artworks are then taken to other galleries around South Africa under the auspices of the Sanlam Art Collection.

I would like to thank our impressive panel of judges, Hayden Proud (curator for painting and sculpture at the Iziko South African National Gallery), Vulindlela Nyoni (lecturer in printmaking at Stellenbosch University) and Susanne du Toit (South African-born artist, art teacher and 2013 BP Portrait Award winner), for the time and effort they put into determining a winner. The awards would not have been possible without them.

Finally, I’d like to congratulate the winner and all the other artists who submitted their labours of love. The exceptional quality and standard of the work is a testament to the range and depth of talent we have in the country.

We hope to see the National Portrait Award flourish as a vibrant new platform for contemporary art in South Africa. Daniël Kriel CEO: Sanlam Private Investments

THE SPONSOR

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Rust-en-Vrede is a heritage building, dated 1845, belonging to the City of Cape Town. Originally built as a jail, it has served many different purposes in its lifetime. Since 1981 it has been used as an arts and cultural centre by the Durbanville Cultural Society (DCS), who have established a vibrant, creative hub in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.

Rust-en-Vrede houses an art gallery, the Clay Museum, art studios where artists work and teach, and a coffee shop. Some of its individual members and corporate members serve on the general committee and the subcommittees who plan art exhibitions, Clay Museum exhibitions, monthly craft markets, music events and poetry evenings.

We would like to thank our sponsor, SPI, and in particular Mr Daniël Kriel, for listening to our proposal, for seeing the potential in such a venture, for investing in the arts and for offering artists across the country the highest single monetary prize for an art competition in South Africa. It has been a pleasure working with SPI, a company that invests in projects such as the National Portrait Award, and one that plans ahead to make them work.

We hope the success of the first National Portrait Award will lead to making it a biennial event. Monica Ross Curator: Rust-en-Vrede

RUST-EN-VREDE, THE ORGANISER

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There is a rich history of portraiture in South Africa. From its time as a colonial outpost of the Dutch and British trading empires, explorers, illustrators and professional artists have tried to fix the physio gnomic diversity of this country’s people.

Parallel to this lies the recording of the presence of authority, exe cuted in the tradition of European naturalism. Most of South Africa’s cities boast collections of portraits of mayors and statesmen as well as memorials that present generic faces for the Unknown Soldier or undaunted pioneer trekker. The commissioned portrait also finds its place in university senate chambers and boardrooms. These portraits share characteristics: fixing the subject’s likeness in a flattering countenance whilst confirming power and authority through appropriate clothing, regalia and background context.

Alongside the tradition of institutional portraiture – a lifeline for many artists – there exists a practice of portraiture that draws its inspiration from the challenge posed by the psychology and facial features of the individual. Although this practice has been present since antiquity, it became a significant part of Western art history from the late 18th century with the emancipation of the artist from royal patronage and the rise of individualism. By the early 20th century the portrait, once on the lowest level of artistic genres, had become an integral component of independent artistic practice.

Moving into a new era of freedom, South African artists are exploring their unique individuality for which the portrait is a particularly suitable vehicle. It is this practice that the SPI National Portrait Award and exhibition would like to nurture while acknowledging the country’s diversity and excellence. Stefan Hundt Head: SPI Art Advisory Service Curator: Sanlam Art Collection

INTRODUCTION

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HAYDEN PROUD is curator for the Michaelis Collection and for Historical Painting and Sculpture at the Iziko South African National Gallery. He studied fine art at the University of Cape Town, following which he continued in the history of art at the University of South Africa, and obtained a master’s degree from the Courtauld Institute

of Art in London. He is an accomplished portrait painter with a number of significant commissions to his name. He continues to publish and lecture extensively on South African and European art history.

The SPI National Portrait Award is unique in that it invites entries in almost all media with the exception of photography and other lens-based mediums. This openness to diversity will no doubt elicit much praise and much criticism, as each medium has distinct qualities which make comparisons and evaluation difficult, but not impossible. One cannot make provision for every subtlety of expression, yet given that the subject of this competition is the ‘portrait’, there will be enough common understanding to make for an exciting and animated process of selecting the 40 works that will be on exhibition and to adjudicate which work will be worthy of the award. Mindful of this a panel of three suitable judges, with the necessary training and experience, was appointed.

SUSANNE DU TOIT is an accomplished painter, winning the 2013 BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London. After graduating from the University of Pretoria she continued her studies in the United States, specialising in lithography before settling in the United Kingdom where she paints and teaches professionally.

VULINDLELA NYONI presently lectures in printmaking at Stellenbosch University. He completed his studies in fine art with a master’s degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Besides teaching he continues to exhibit extensively in South Africa and abroad. He is a sought-after adjudicator and has served on several national

competition judging panels over the past few years.

THE JUDGES

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“A Young Man”Oil on canvas177 x 80 cm

Heather Gourlay-Conyngham NATIONAL PORTRAIT AWARD WINNER

15

THE SELECTED PORTRAITS

16 17

“L’Hommage à Ingres: African Chic(k): Ms Tshegofatso Phage Seated”Oil on canvas121 x 91 cm

Nicholas Allen

“The Secret Life of a Mathematician”Monotype on paper54 x 41 cm

Sanell Aggenbach

18 19

“Looking for Damaraland”Pastel on cotton paper33 x 25 cm

Hanneke Benadé

“Professor Brown”Oil on canvas150 x 120 cm

Angela Banks

20 21

“Mamphela Ramphele”Newspaper tapestry65 x 87 cm

Tamlin Blake

“Swain”Oil on paper170 x 116 cm

Vanessa Berlein

22 23

“Vuyo”Acrylic on canvas150 x 95 cm

Claude Chandler

“Modern Youth”Oil on board80 x 60 cm

Ashley Bothma

24 25

“Credo Vusamazulu Mutwa”Mixed media on canvas90 x 90 cm

Eve Dumont

“Magwa Pure Pundoland Tea”Oil on board69 x 55 cm

René du Toit

26 27

Heather Gourlay-Conyngham

“Mom Sleeping”Oil on canvas30 x 40 cm

“The Genealogist”Oil on canvas91 x 61 cm

Heidi Fourie

28 29

“Myself with my Favourite Plants”Acrylic on canvas130 x 100 cm

Susan Grundlingh

“Mavu and Kyle on Studio Couch”Oil on linen mounted on board73 x 84 cm

Ian Grose

30 31

Lolly Hahn-Page

“Portrait of Old Man Joe”Oil on canvas91 x 60 cm

“William Kentridge”Scraperboard41 x 54 cm

Solly Gutman

32 33

“Evening Portrait of a Young Man”Oil on board45 x 60 cm

“Self Portrait”Oil on canvas10 x 7 cm

Jolante HesseRebecca Haysom

34 35

Ruan Huisamen

“A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman”Charcoal on paper54 x 80 cm

“July and Praakie”Pastel on board107 x 72 cm

Helena Hugo

36 37

Mark Kaplan

“Sunday Morning”Oil on canvas100 x 75 cm

“Self Portrait”Oil on canvas50 x 50 cm

David Jackson

38 39

“Frauke (the artist’s daughter)”Oil on plywood40 x 50 cm

“Portret van A”Oil on board122 x 120 cm

Clare MenckJohann Louw

40 41

Lynie Olivier

“Isak Bergh – A Question without Words”Oil on canvas91 x 76 cm

“Mukwirikwiri (Foreigner)”Acrylic on canvas100 x 70 cm

Richard Mudariki

42 43

Pippa Lea Pennington

“Sara Doing Her Make-Up”Oil on canvas122 x 91 cm

“1925 – 2013”Oil on copper80 x 60 cm

Lauren Palte

44 45

“Niece”Acrylic on canvas180 x 120 cm

“Voetstoots”Oil on canvas80 x 80 cm

Willem PretoriusAnnette Pretorius

46 47

“Untitled”Oil on canvas on board60 x 50 cm

“Lullaby”Charcoal on canvas67 x 47 cm

Kennett SinclairAnita Sent

48 49

“The Kalahari Red Dunes Woman: Belinda Kruiper”Oil on canvas92 x 61 cm

“The Present of Vermeer’s Future”Oil on canvas98 x 82 cm

Julia TealeSue Tatham

50 51

Anathi Tyawa

“Face of Xhosa (My Four Fathers)”Oil on canvas80 x 60 cm

“Desmond Tutu”Oil on canvas98 x 82 cm

Eleanor Turvey

52 53

Khayalethu Witbooi

“My Mirror, My Wall”Oil on canvas100 x 70 cm

“Brown identity”Oil on canvas60 x 100 cm

Eugene Wicht

5554

“Broken Things”Oil on canvas50 x 50 cm

Kim Woodman

•I would like to thank Estelle Smith, corporate member of the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery and Clay Museum, for initially planting the seed of this competition. If not for her none of this would have happened!

•As this is the first National Portrait Award in South Africa, I want to thank Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) for their trust, vision and the substantial sponsorship invested in this event. The enthusiasm with which they supported us every step of the way is truly remarkable.

•To Stefan Hundt, Curator of the Sanlam Art Collection, who supported this project from start to finish and who will coordinate a selection of artworks on a tour to various centres in South Africa: a big thank you! Your help and advice has been invaluable.

•My immense gratitude to the three hard-working judges, Susanne du Toit, Vulindlela Nyoni and Hayden Proud, who have had to sift through all the entries in three days to eventually select the winner as well as the portraits that go on exhibition. We know how difficult these decisions are! Thank you for your dedication and focus.

•My grateful acknowledgement to the 1 200 artists who entered the competition. Thank you for your enthusiasm! Congratulations to those who were selected – what an outstanding achievement.

•I want to acknowledge and sincerely thank my assistants, Hamlin Jansen van Vuuren and Nina Nelson, for their hard work, as well as Susan Liegner for her unstinting support and efforts. To the committee members and friends who made invaluable suggestions and who contributed and helped to realise the first SPI National Portrait Award: thank you all.

Monica Ross Curator: Rust-en-Vrede

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Aggenbach, Sanell 16Allen, Nicholas 17

Banks, Angela 18Benadé, Hanneke 19Berlein, Vanessa 20Blake, Tamlin 21Bothma, Ashley 22

Chandler, Claude 23

Du Toit, René 24Dumont, Eve 25

Fourie, Heidi 26

Gourlay-Conyngham, Heather 13, Grose, Ian 28Grundlingh, Susan 29Gutman, Solly 30

Hahn-Page, Lolly 31Haysom, Rebecca 32Hesse, Jolante 33Hugo, Helena 34Huisamen, Ruan 35

Jackson, David 36

Kaplan, Mark 37

Louw, Johann 38

Menck, Clare 39Mudariki, Richard 40

Olivier, Lynie 41

Palte, Lauren 42Pennington, Pippa Lea 43Pretorius, Annette 44Pretorius, Willem 45

Sent, Anita 46Sinclair, Kennett 47

Tatham, Sue 48Teale, Julia 49Turvey, Eleanor 50Tyawa, Anathi 51

Wicht, Eugene 52Witbooi, Khayalethu 53Woodman, Kim 54

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Produced for Sanlam Private Investments by New Media Publishingwww.newmediapublishing.co.za

INDEX

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