Visionary Artists, Parallel Lives -Gladys Mgudlandlu

23 Maggie Laubser Oesland by die See oil on card 20 by 27 cm private collection Gladys Mgudlandlu changed perceptions by being the ‘first’ black woman to gain recognition as an artist. As a ‘celebrity’ she was the subject of some embarrassingly effusive and patronising journalism, such as the article written after her third exhibition in Cape Town: Without detracting from her skill and sincerity as a painter one can safely say that the amazing success of Gladys Mgudlandlu’s exhibitions … is as much due to her colourful and forceful personality as it is to the quality of her art. This huge and refreshingly vital African woman seems to draw people to her. The day her latest exhibition opened more than 500 people rushed to get into the gallery. Intrigued and bejewelled socialites were there to offer their scented patronage. Art lovers, art critics, admirers and friends swarmed around her like drones wooing a queen bee. Cape Times , 7 December 1963 In some respects, this pretentious drivel is not unlike that written about [other women artists] early in the [20th] century. Yet whereas it was deemed appropriate that [they] should be lady watercolourists, it was considered extraordinary that Gladys Mgudlandlu should succeed as an artist. The kind of difficulty facing Mgudlandlu has been dealt with by Mamphela Ramphele, writing insightfully from personal experience: It is not difficult to be a celebrity in a situation in which others sharing a similar history have been prevented from succeeding by a vicious discriminatory system. Being the first this, that or the other, though reflecting a personal accomplishment, should also be seen as an indictment of a society which has denied many more black people the opportunity to excel. The double jeopardy of being black and woman compounds the problem for me (1995: 180 and 181). Mgudlandlu fought the system in the 1960s and made her mark. Marion Arnold (1996) Women and Art in South Africa , Johannesburg: David Philip, page 13.