Artist
William Kentridge
South Africa · 1955–
William Kentridge makes films from charcoal drawings he draws, erases and redraws, the Drawings for Projection, and operas and sculpture about South Africa.
South African painters
107 artists
South African painting in the twentieth century began with landscape and with the encounter with European modernism. J. H. Pierneef painted the highveld in ordered, geometric views; Irma Stern and Maggie Laubser brought German Expressionism home in the 1920s and were mocked for it before they were celebrated. Gerard Sekoto painted township life before leaving for Paris in 1947, George Pemba painted the Eastern Cape for seven decades, and Ernest Mancoba became part of the European avant-garde as a member of CoBrA. Vladimir Tretchikoff, scorned by critics, sold prints of Chinese Girl by the million.
Under apartheid, Dumile Feni drew its suffering in distorted, monumental figures; Esther Mahlangu carried Ndebele mural painting to canvases, cars and museums. Today Marlene Dumas, in Amsterdam, is one of the most influential painters alive. These are the country's painters, most looked-up first. See also South African artists and Southern Africa.
Profiles
Writer and painter
Breyten Breytenbach
South Africa · 1939–2024
Breyten Breytenbach, the great Afrikaans poet who opposed apartheid, was jailed for seven years and painted throughout his life. He died in Paris in 2024.
Painter and DJ
Leon Botha
South Africa · 1985–2011
Leon Botha, a Cape Town painter and hip-hop DJ with progeria, appeared in Die Antwoord's Enter the Ninja and made art about his condition. He died at 26.
Painter
Marlene Dumas
South Africa · 1953–
Marlene Dumas, born in Cape Town and in Amsterdam since 1976, paints faces and bodies from photographs in loose, wet washes. A leading painter of our time.
Painter
Esther Mahlangu
South Africa · 1935–
Esther Mahlangu took Ndebele wall painting from her village to Paris, a BMW Art Car and the world's museums. Her life, her technique and her legacy.
Painter
Vladimir Tretchikoff
South Africa · 1913–2006
Vladimir Tretchikoff, the Russian-born painter in Cape Town from 1946, made Chinese Girl, the "Green Lady", one of the 20th century's most reproduced pictures.
Painter
Irma Stern
South Africa · 1894–1966
Irma Stern brought German Expressionism to South Africa in the 1920s; derided, then celebrated, her portraits now sell for millions. Her home is a museum.
Painter and sculptor
Dumile Feni
South Africa · 1942–1991
Dumile Feni, the "Goya of the townships", drew apartheid's suffering in powerful, distorted figures, above all African Guernica (1967), before exile in 1968.
Painter
J. H. Pierneef
South Africa · 1886–1957
J. H. Pierneef painted the highveld in ordered, geometric landscapes, above all the 32 Johannesburg Station Panels (1929–32), now read in political context.
Photographer and painter
Zwelethu Mthethwa
South Africa · 1960–
Zwelethu Mthethwa won acclaim for colour portraits of South Africans at home. In 2017 he was convicted of murdering Nokuphila Kumalo and jailed for 18 years.
More artists
Most looked-up first. Names link to our profile, or to Wikipedia where we do not have one yet. Short descriptions from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons. Image credits
- Ernest Mancoba · 1904–2002
South African artist
- Willie Bester · 1956–
South African artist
- George Pemba · 1912–2001
South African artist
Maggie Laubser · 1886–1973South African painter and printmaker
- Peter Clarke · 1929–2014
South African artist and writer
- Walter Battiss · 1906–1982
South African painter
- Tracey Rose · 1974–
South African artist
- Uli Aschenborn · 1947–
animal painter
- Brett Murray · 1961–
South African sculptor
Gregoire Boonzaier · 1909–2005South African painter
Charles Davidson Bell · 1813–1882South African artist
- Anton Kannemeyer · 1967–
South African comics artist
- Lefifi Tladi · 1949–
South African painter, poet, and musician
- Helen Sebidi · 1943–
South African painter
Paul du Toit · 1965–2014South African painter
- Frans Claerhout · 1919–2006
Belgian artist
Michael Gitlin · 1943–Israeli artist
David Koloane · 1938–2019South African visual artist and activist
- Lionel Smit · 1982–
South African artist
- Mbongeni Buthelezi · 1956–
South African artist
- Matthew Hindley · 1974–
South African artist
- Graham Bell · 1910–1943
Harold Rubin · 1932–2020South African-born Israeli artist
- Winifred Brunton · 1880–1959
British and South African artist and egyptologist
Ayanda Mabulu · 1981–artist and painter
Harry Bolus · 1834–1911South African artist and botanist
- Lippy Lipshitz · 1903–1980
Sculptor and painter
Garth Erasmus · 1956–South African artist
Christo Coetzee · 1929–2000South African artist
Gabriel de Jongh · 1913–2004Dutch painter
Cinga Samson · 1986–South African painter
Judith Mason · 1938–2016South African artist
- Isaac Witkin · 1936–2006
British sculptor
- Alexis Preller · 1911–1975
South African artist
- Gladys Mgudlandlu · 1917–1979
South African artist and educator
- Norman Catherine · 1949–
South African artist
- Beresford Egan · 1905–1984
British artist
C. G. Finch-Davies · 1875–1920British soldier, ornithologist and painter
- Evan Penny · 1953–
Canadian artist
- Lady Skollie · 1987–
South African artist
- Neville Lewis · 1895–1972
South African artist
- Gavin Jantjes · 1948–
South African painter
Wolf Kibel · 1903–1938South African artist
Larry Abramson · 1954–
Ezrom Legae · 1938–1999South African sculptor
- Jean Welz · 1900–1975
Austrian architect and painter
Sarah Britten · 1974–South African writer, blogger, lipstick artist and communication strategist
- Cecil Michaelis · 1913–1997
South African painter
- Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk · 1853–1936
South African painter
Jan Vermeiren · 1949–South African painter
- Deborah Bell · 1957–
South African artist
Johannes Meintjes · 1923–1980- John Meyer · 1942–
South African artist
- Le Roux Smith Le Roux · 1914–1963
South African artist, actor, broadcaster
Cythna Letty · 1895–1985South African botanical artist
Hugo Naude · 1869–1941South African painter
- Deborah Poynton · 1970–
South African painter
- Maud Sumner · 1902–1985
South African painter
- Conrad Bo · 1972–
- Moses Kottler · 1896–1977
South African artist
Karlien de Villiers · 1975–South African artist
- Carl Walter Meyer · 1965–2017
South African artist
Arabella Elizabeth Roupell · 1817–1914British painter, botanical and scientific illustrator
- Thenjiwe Nkosi · 1980–
South African artist
- Ansel Krut · 1959–
Maurice van Essche · 1906–1977Belgian-born South African painter
- Chrysoula Argyros · 1954–
South African artist who paints in watercolors and oils
David Rosen · 1959–2014American artist
- Robert Hodgins · 1920–2010
South African painter and printmaker
- Dorothy Kay · 1886–1964
Irish-born South African artist
Peter Eastman · 1976–South African artist
- Valerie Adler · 1938–
Israeli South African-born painter and designer
Gillian Condy · 1952–South African (botanical) artist
- Rosa Hope · 1902–1972
British artist
- Caesar Carl Hans Henkel · 1839–1913
South African artist
Barbara Jeppe · 1921–1999South African botanical illustrator
- Edward Roworth · 1880–1964
South African painter
- Tony Gum · 1995–
South African artist
- Bobs Coghill Haworth · 1900–1988
Canadian artist
- Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst · 1920–1994
South African painter
- Nicky Hoberman · 1967–
South African painter
- Marianne Fannin · 1845–1938
Irish botanical artist
- David Kuijers · 1962–
South African artist
Cathcart William Methven · 1849–1925British artist
- Johan Oldert · 1912–1984
South African painter and sculptor
- Ethel May Dixie · 1876–1973
South African artist
- Bruce Arnott · 1938–2018
South African sculptor and educator
Janko de Beer · 1980–South African artist
- Olive Coates Palgrave · 1889–1963
South African botanical illustrator
- Cecil Kenneth Baker · 1921–1996
South African artist
Frederick Timpson I'Ons · 1802–1887South African painter
Barbara Pike · 1933–South African artist
- Sean Slemon · 1978–
South African sculptor
Rhona Brown · 1922–2014South African artist
Heinrich Egersdörfer · 1853–1915German-born artist, illustrator and cartoonist
- Cyril Fradan · 1928–1997
Kathleen Annie Lansdell · 1888–1967South African painter and scientific illustrator