The William Humphreys Art Gallery, in Kimberley,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, was opened in 1952 and named after its principal benefactor, William Benbow Humphreys (1889–1965).

Origins

In 1948, William Humphreys gave to the City of Kimberley a major part of his personal collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish Old Masters, British and French paintings, antique furniture and other ''objets d'art''. Significant South African works of art assembled by members of the Art Section of the Kimberley Athenaeum and The Max Greenberg Bequest were added to form the nucleus of the Gallery's collection. The Humphreys Loan Collection and Timlin Collection on indefinite loan from De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, augment it.

Growth

More recently the Meyer Collection of European and Oriental Porcelain and the Lawson Collection of Old Master Drawings and Prints have been acquired. At present the William Humphreys Art Gallery concentrates on collecting South African works of art, and has built up an important art reference library.

Artists represented

Flemish and Dutch painters

The Old Masters stem from the Michaelis collection. Among the earliest works are landscapes by

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collabora ...

(1568-1625). There are also landscape paintings by

Antonie Waterloo Antonie Waterloo (6 May 1609 – 23 October 1690) was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter. Biography Waterloo is thought to have been born at Ryssel (Lille), then in the Spanish Netherlands, now part of northern France. His mother was Ma ...

(1610-1676),

Jan Wijnants Jan Jansz Wijnants (alternatively Wynants) (1632 – buried 23 January 1684) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography He was born in Haarlem, the son of a Catholic art dealer also named Jan Wijnants.Jan Dirksz Both Jan Dirksz Both (between 1610 and 1618 - August 9, 1652) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher, who made an important contribution to the development of Dutch Italianate landscape painting. Biography Both was born in Utrecht, and was ...

(1610-1652), and Philip Wouwerman (1619-1668). ''Landscape with Ruins'' by

Karel Dujardin Karel Dujardin (September 27, 1626November 20, 1678) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Although he did a few portraits and a few history paintings of religious subjects, most of his work is small Italianate landscape scenes with animals and peasan ...

(1622-1678) and a river scene by

Jan van Goyen Jan Josephszoon van Goyen (; 13 January 1596 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch landscape painter. The scope of his landscape subjects was very broad as he painted forest landscapesm marines, river landscapes, beach scenes, winter landscape, cityscap ...

(1596-1656) are among the most renowned selections. Among the still lifes are works by Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), Jan Frans van Son (1658-1704),

Jan van Huysum Jan van Huysum (or Jan van Huijsum) (15 April 1682 – 8 February 1749) is the most notable member of the Van Huysum family of artists working in Dutch Golden Age of the 17th and 18th centuries; “by common consent, Jan van Huysum has been held ...

(1682-1749). Other well-known paintings include ''The Woodcutters'' by

Adam Pynacker Adam Christiaensz Pynacker or Pijnacker (15 February 1622, Schiedam - buried 28 March 1673, Amsterdam ) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly of landscapes. Biography Pynacker was the son of a wine merchant, who was a member of the ''vroedsch ...

(1622-1673), ''Fighting Cats'' by

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11 November 1579, Antwerp – 19 August 1657, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes and still lifes. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with ...

(1579-1657), ''Interior'' by

Egbert van der Poel Egbert van der Poel (9 March 1621, in Delft – 19 July 1664, in Rotterdam) was a Dutch Golden Age genre and landscape painter, son of a Delft goldsmith. Life Van der Poel may have been a student of Esaias van de Velde and of Aert van der ...

(1621-1664), ''Portrait of a Man'' by Caeser van Everdingen (1606-1678), ''Portrait of a Woman'' by

Gonzales Coques Gonzales Coques (between 1614 and 1618 – 18 April 1684) was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings.Veronique van Passel, "Coques ocks; Cox Gonzales onsael; Gonsalo" ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, ccessed 4 Octob ...

(1614-1684), ''Suitors in a Garden'' by

Dirck Hals Dirck Hals (19 March 1591 – 17 May 1656), born at Haarlem, was a Dutch Golden Age painter of merry company scenes, festivals and ballroom scenes. He played a role in the development of these types of genre painting. He was somewhat infl ...

(1591-1656), ''Woman on Horseback'' by

Eglon van der Neer Eglon van der Neer (1635/363 May 1703) was a Dutch painter of historical scenes, portraits and elegant, fashionable people, and later of landscapes. Life Van der Neer was born in Amsterdam and was probably first taught by his father, Aert ...

(1635-1703), and ''Rest on the Flight to Egypt'' by

Gerrit Dou Gerrit Dou (7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his ...

(1613-1675).

French painters

The collection is limited. It includes works by

Jean-Baptiste Greuze Jean-Baptiste Greuze (, 21 August 1725 – 4 March 1805) was a French painter of portraits, genre scenes, and history painting. Biography Early life Greuze was born at Tournus, a market town in Burgundy. He is generally said to have formed h ...

(1725-1805) and

Gaspard Dughet Gaspard Dughet (15 June 1615 – 25 May 1675), also known as Gaspard Poussin, was a French painter born in Rome. Life Dughet was born in Rome, the son of a French pastry-cook and his Italian wife. He has always generally been considered as a Fr ...

(1594–1665). The painting ''Shipwreck of the Three Master'' is by

Eugène Isabey Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (22 July 1803, in Paris – 25 April 1886, in Montévrain) was a French painter, lithographer and watercolorist in the Romantic style. Biography He was born to Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a well known painter wh ...

(1767–1855).

Italian painters

The best-known artists in this group are Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530),

Emma Ciardi Emma Ciardi (1879–1933) was an Italian painter. Biography Ciardi was born in Venice. Following in the footsteps of her father Guglielmo and brother Beppe, Emma Ciardi began painting as an adolescent and exhibited for the first time in 1900 at ...

(1879–1933) en Salvator Rosa (1615–1673).

British painters

Paintings in this collection include ''Mrs Irvine J. Boswell'' by

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...

(1756–1823), ''Lord Eldin'' by Andrew Geddes (1783–1844), ''Mother and Child: The Bath'' by

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...

(1878–1931), and a self-portrait by

David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...

(1785–1841). Other works are included by Peter Lely (1618–1680),

William Etty William Etty (10 March 1787 – 13 November 1849) was an English artist best known for his history paintings containing nude (art), nude figures. He was the first significant British painter of nudes and still lifes. Born in York, h ...

(1675–1734),

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

(1697–1764) en George Romney (1734–1802).

South African painters

Many of the most famous South African artists are represented in the gallery. The most important collection is that of

Alexis Preller Alexis Preller (6 September 1911 – 13 December 1975) was a South African painter. He trained at the Westminster School of Art from which he graduated in 1934 and later at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris (1937). He was especia ...

(1911-1975).

Irma Stern Irma Stern (2 October 1894 – 23 August 1966) was a major South African artist who achieved national and international recognition in her lifetime. Life Stern was born in Schweizer-Reneke, a small town in the Transvaal, of German-Jewish pa ...

(1894–1966) has three portraits and a still life there. Among the oldest artists whose work is shown here is Thomas William Bowler (1812-1869) and Frederick Timpson I'Ons (1802-1887). Bowler painted ''Cape Town and Table Mountain from Table Bay''. Seven paintings by Frans Oerder (1867–1944) include ''Girl Reading'' and ''A Boy''. ''Highveld, Transvaal'' is by

Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef Jacobus Hendrik (Henk) Pierneef (usually referred to as Pierneef) (13 August 1886 Pretoria – 4 October 1957 Pretoria), was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters. His distin ...

(1886–1957). Other highlights include ''De Beers Mine (The Big Hole)'', ''Old Church, Tulbagh'', and ''Victoria Falls'' by Robert Gwelo Goodman (1871-1939); ''Bowl with a clump of mixed flowers'' by Wolf Kibel (1903–1938); ''The Return of the Rajah'' and ''The Messenger of Death'' by John Henry Amshewitz (1882-1942); ''Ship in Durban Harbor'' by Clement Senèque (1897-1930); ''Pool in the

Komati River The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...

'' by Rosamund Everard-Steenkamp (1907-1945); and ''Rock Landscape'' by Stefan Ampenberger (1908–1983).

Other artworks

Controversial nudes by Moses Kottler (1896-1977) are found here, as well as several sculptures by Anton van Wouw (1862-1945). A modern statue is Sydney Kumalo's ''Sitting Woman''.

Bonnie Ntshalintshali Bonnie Ntshalintshali (1 January 1967 – 31 December 1999) was a South African ceramicist and sculptor. Early life Bonnie Mayvee Ntshalintshali was born on a farm in the Winterton district of KwaZulu-Natal in 1967. As a girl she survived polio ...

's ''Tamfuti'' is a striking modern ceramic work. Other points of interest in the collection of plastic and decorative arts besides painting are 18th-century French furniture, examples of South African stinkwood and yellowwood furniture,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and

Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's work an ...

, and 19th-century Cape silver work by Johannes Casparus Lotter. A library of germane books is here as well.

Serving the community

Additional to its collecting and exhibiting functions, the William Humphreys Art Gallery serves as an educational and cultural centre, with an outreach programme taking exhibitions to rural towns in the Northern Cape.

References

Bibliography

* Fransen, Hans (1978). ''Guide to the museums of Southern Africa''. Cape Town: Southern African Museum Association, 19788. * Holloway, Rosemary. "A short history of the William Humphreys Art Gallery." ''Lantern,tydskrif vir kennis en kultuur'', yearbook 33, no. 3, July 1984. * Kros, Neville. "The William Humphreys Art Gallery Kimberley." ''Lantern, tydskrif vir kennis en kultur'', yearbook 10, no. 1, September 1960.

External links

* {{authority control Museums in the Northern Cape Art museums and galleries in South Africa Buildings and structures in Kimberley, Northern Cape Art museums established in 1952 1952 establishments in South Africa Former private collections