Strauss & co - 20 May 2019, Johannesburg

37 64 Giuseppe Bottero ITALIAN/SOUTH AFRICAN 1911–2004 Peaceful Moment signed and dated 1957; signed and inscribed with the artist’s name and the title on a Bottero’s African Wildlife Gallery label adhered to the reverse oil on canvas laid down on board 49 by 59,5 cm R50 000 – 70 000 65 Giuseppe Bottero ITALIAN/SOUTH AFRICAN 1911–2004 The Gallant Breed signed and dated 1960; signed and inscribed with the title on a Bottero’s African Wildlife Gallery label adhered to the reverse oil on canvas 91 by 121 cm R50 000 – 70 000 Giuseppe Bottero grew up in the Monastero Bormida district in Piedmont, northern Italy. The first picture book he received as a child was illustrated with an array of birds and animals, but he concentrated on the images of African lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes and vultures. He found refuge from the rough-and-tumble of village bullying by spending his time alongside the Bormida River that flowed nearby his home. He named it the ‘Friendly River’and occupied himself with observing the fish, birds, insects and animals that lived in the river and along its banks. He studied the local plants intently, acutely aware of the lifecycles of the various species. Bottero joined the army in 1932 and was posted to Ethiopia with the Italian Army of Occupation in 1935. After World War II, he relocated to southern Africa where he spent the rest of his life building what he termed Bottero’s African Wildlife Collection. He is most well known for The Meeting (illustrated left), a large painting that shows a gathering of more than 400 animals, birds, reptiles and insects in an African landscape. This work was reproduced as a poster that sold thousands of copies across the world as part of Bottero’s efforts to draw attention to the necessity of conserving the continent’s natural heritage. 65 64