Strauss & co - 20 May 2013, Johannesburg

105 219 Freida LOCK south african 1902–1962 Repairing the Dhows, Zanzibar twice signed and dated 48; inscribed ‘Painted in Zanzibar, Freida got to know the skipper of the dhow, presented to me just before her death in London’ in another hand on the stretcher oil on canvas 70,5 by 75,5 cm R100 000–150 000 notes Lock was a founder member of the reactionary New Group – described as one of the most influential of all artist’s groups that have been active in South African art history – founded in 1938 and disbanded in 1953. ‘The artists who were drawn into its ranks were united solely in their aim to promote a more receptive climate for contemporary artistic forms’ in response to the long outmoded patterns of aesthetic thought in South Africa. 1 The current lot was painted when Lock travelled for eighteen months in Zanzibar and Lamu, between 1947 and 1949. Although never as recognised in the rest of South Africa as in Cape Town, the artist ‘suffered an undeserved eclipse amidst the energetic developments of post-WW2 SA art.’Esme Berman identifies her best period of creative achievement as ‘the period when she was an active member of the New Group [she produced] forceful and accomplished compositions. Her approach was modern, her draughtsmanship confident and her sense of colour original and sure.’ 2 This painting exemplifies Berman’s description of her colouration and aesthetic inclinations of the time: ‘She seemed to enjoy particularly the chalky tone and texture obtained from zinc-white applied in thick impasto; dense areas of cream, pale-grey and oyster-pink as well as unadulterated white itself …’ 3 1. Berman, Esme. The Story of South African Painting. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town and Roterdam, 1974. page 81 2. Berman, Esme. Art & Artists of South Africa. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town and Roterdam, 1983. page 267–268 3. Ibid. page 268