Strauss & co - 20 May 2019, Johannesburg

66 135 Louis Maqhubela SOUTH AFRICAN 1939– Abstract with Bird signed and dated 71 mixed media on paper 57 by 57 cm R20 000 – 30 000 136 Ephraim Ngatane SOUTH AFRICAN 1938–1971 Jazz Band signed and dated ‘69 oil on board 61 by 91 cm R150 000 – 200 000 134 Ephraim Ngatane SOUTH AFRICAN 1938–1971 Gamblers signed mixed media on paper 51,5 by 69,5 cm R50 000 – 70 000 137 David Koloane SOUTH AFRICAN 1938– Abstract with Wheelbarrow signed oil pastel and charcoal on paper 29,5 by 42 cm R15 000 – 20 000 Ephraim Ngatane was born in Lesotho and moved to Johannesburg in the early 1940s. He studied under Cecil Skotnes at the Polly Street Art Centre between 1952 and 1954. Although Ngatane earned a reputation for producing highly individual social-realist paintings descriptive of black urban life under apartheid, his output also records many instances of pleasure: boxing, jazz performances, weddings and a 1967 snowstorm in Soweto. He held sell-out exhibitions throughout the 1960s and up to his premature death in 1971 and was an important figurehead, playing an important role in mentoring Dumile Feni, among others. An accomplished colourist, his work is marked by lyrical impressionism and a selective use of abstraction. 136 137 135 134 ©The Estate of Ephraim Ngatane | DALRO ©The Estate of Ephraim Ngatane | DALRO