Archived: Pierneef Painting that Launched Cultural Movement Headlines Strauss Auction

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s painting of ‘The Maluti Mountains’ (1 200 000 â?? 1 600 000) at Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction on 16 March 2015 at the Vineyard Hotel, Newlands in Cape Town, tells a fascinating South African story. Not only is it a extraordinary painting from the period which Esmé Berman described as one of "discovery and mastery" but it was purchased by a remarkable man instrumental in developing South Africa’s educational and cultural institutions.

Archived: Artist and Son Reunited

Born in a shtetl outside Warsaw, Kibel left Poland in 1923 to avoid conscription. He initially settled in Vienna, but in 1925 relocated to Jerusalem, later moving to Tel Aviv, where he met Frieda. Dogged by financial hardship, Kibel immigrated to South Africa in 1929. He arrived alone, his pregnant wife despatched to Warsaw due to visa problems. Kibel’s arrival date in Cape Town coincided with the birth of Joseph, who would only come to South Africa three and a half years later with his mother.