Notes

After his arrival in Eastwood in 1945, Sekoto participated in several exhibitions including a group show entitled Contemporary Art at the Gainsborough Galleries in 1946. The Star critic noted:

The African painter, Sekoto, seems to be seeking his own path and finding it. There is a new feeling for form in his work (notably in the painting of the Washergirl and the huddled woman’s figure in Squatters) that shows a development beyond the riotous and often beautiful colour for which his earlier work received lavish praise. This growing mastery of drawing suggests that his work may yet hold surprises.ⁱ

Sekoto was a sympathetic observer of everyday life, ever vigilant and always ready to capture details with his pencil and paper. His skilled draughtsmanship, his bolder colours and his sense of strong composition focus all energy and intent on the task at hand – getting the washing done. Form and colour are simplified into large, almost abstract planes that emphasise the flatness of the canvas. By contrast, the exquisite painterliness of the hedge creates a foil for the woman at work and effectively screens out all background detail.

His mature mastery of colour as both a compositional device and an emotional register are evident here: the woman’s red shirt, at the very heart of the painting, suggests warmth and ensures that her form advances against the receding cool tones of the background. The simplified elements of the painting lend the woman an iconic dignity, making her formally and metaphorically the steadfast, dependable woman at the centre of the image.

ⁱ ‘Imagination on Canvas. Work of 18 artists on exhibition’, The Star, 7.3.1946. 

Provenance

Sold by Sotheby Parke Bernet South Africa, Johannesburg, 31 October 1975, lot 214.