South African and International Art
Live Auction, 20 May 2013
Evening Sale
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Notes
'...the buildings are those of present-day Bishopscourt - granted - (as "Boschheuvel") to Jan van Riebeeck in 1658. What was probably the nucleus of the present house was built in the 1690's by liquor merchant Guillaume Heems. Johannes Roep, owner from 1773, totally rebuilt the house, giving it it's present double-storey appearance with single-storeyed back-wings (though with flat roofs), and probably also built the outbuildings, one of which appears in the Bowler watercolour. After several changes of ownership, the farm's name was changed to Protea and was given a pitched roof. But ever since 1851 it has been the seat of the Archbishop of Cape Town. It underwent further changes, among others by Sir Herbert Baker, but it is still substantially the same complex seen in the Bowler picture, which probably dates from the 1850's.'
Dr. Hans Fransen