Notes

A century ago, on the 7 February 1922, Irma Stern opened her first solo exhibition in South Africa at Ashbey’s Art Galleries in Cape Town. Prior to it’s opening, according to collector DC Boonzaier, (who himself had heard the rumour from the sculptor Moses Kottler), two policemen were reported to have visited to check if the works were in fact not “indecent”. The exhibition was greeted with mixed reviews that revealed both the conservative tastes of the South African public as well as the desire for the European avant-garde that Stern’s brand of
expressionism represented. Despite the polarising opinions, the show succeeded in sparking the interest of gallery goers as reported by the Cape Times; “As a ‘draw’ to the public no show of pictures has ever succeeded like the exhibition by Irma Stern now on view at Ashbey’s Galleries. There is a constant stream of visitors throughout the day, and once at least during the lunch hour the crowd was so great that waiting queues had to be formed”.^1
1. Karel Schoeman (1994) Irma Stern: The Early Years, 1894-1993, Cape Town: South African Library, page 73.

Provenance

The Irma Stern Trust Collection, accession number 712.