south african readers will undoubtedly know the work of pierneef, considered to be one of the ‘old masters’ of south african art. the graphic style of his work & his colour palettes are two reasons why he’s one of my personal favourites.

the rupert museum in stellenbosch is currently hosting an exhibition of his Johannesburg Railway Station panels, which were commissioned by South African Railways in 1929. the thirty-two panels depicting landscapes of different parts of Southern Africa were unveiled in 1932 and displayed in the concourse of the then new Park Station in Johannesburg.

This project created enormous publicity for the artist, as the Railways were responsible for the promotion of tourism both nationally and internationally, and Johannesburg Railway Station became the main point of embarkation for visitors, whether tourists or businessmen, as the age of air transport had yet to arrive.

i would encourage anyone in the area to go check them out. more info here.

i remember seeing a pierneef for sale in a gallery once and it was priced at something like R2 million. his baobab painting sold for over R11 million in 2008.