Strauss & co - 12 November 2012, Johannesburg

112 179 Ephraim Mojalefa NGATANE south african 1938–1971 The End of Civilization signed and dated ‘69 oil on board 59,5 by 90 cm R120 000 – 160 000 provenance Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner. notes Ephraim Ngantane’s interest in the ambiguities of abstraction set him apart from the descriptive style of other township artists. 1 In The End of Civilization he fragments the forms of the subjects to the point where they disintegrate into an unstructured patchwork of colour further emphasised by his palette knife application of paint. This treatment is integral to the overall energy of the painting as it captures the movement of the protagonists of the composition. 1 Stevenson, Michael, South African Art 1850 – Now , Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, 2004, page 13.