Strauss & co - 5 June 2017, Johannesburg

157 208 Maggie Laubser SOUTH AFRICAN 1886–1973 Basutoland Hills signed; signed and inscribed with the title in another hand on the reverse oil on canvas laid down on board 40 by 50 cm R600 000 – 800 000 From an early age Maggie Laubser was enchanted by the landscape and the light, particularly at sunset when it flooded the valley she traversed on horseback. These experiences, together with her exposure to German Expressionism and Modernism, were to shape her stylised landscapes with the use of strong colour and simplified, assertive forms that give her canvases a powerful impact. In the 1940s a Cape architect named Henri Louw was supervising the construction of a stone church in Marquard on the Lesotho border when he set eyes on a captivating young woman, Helena van Niekerk, who he was later to marry. As a wedding gift to his young bride he purchased Basutoland Hills to commemorate the area of their chance encounter and her love of the landscape of her birth. This work has remained a treasured possession in the Louw family for over sixty years. ©The Estate of Maggie Laubser | DALRO