Notes

A member of the New Group, Nerine Desmond, nurtured a long-held interest in pastoral themes often painted with sheep or goats and their herders. It may be assumed that this was painted in the mid-fifties when other known works on related themes were produced. The white and turquoise of the herder’s head cloth and beads and the ochres of her skirt and blanket wrap indicate that she is a Xhosa woman and this is an Eastern Cape scene. With a sure sense of design developed during her studies in graphic techniques at the Central School of Art in London, Desmond transposes these colours to the landscape and the goats to suggest a unity of nature and culture. Her knowledge of animal anatomy underlies the rhythmic movement of the goats and provides the sound foundation for this idyllic scene of rustic contentment.