Notes

The first owner of the present lot, Mr JP Malan, counted works by such artists as JH Pierneef, Allerley Glossop, Hugo Naude, Jan Volschenk, WH Coetzer, Edward Roworth, Sydney Carter and Gregoire Boonzaier in his collection. He was a colleague and close, life-long friend of Pierneef’s, dating back to 1917 when the two men both taught at the Teachers’ Training College, Heidelberg. Visiting his friend some years later, and seeing Oerder’s Veld Fire hanging on the wall, Pierneef related the following story: ‘One day Frans Oerder and I were visiting Gustav Preller’s farm at Broederstroom [Preller, of course the famous Afrikaans writer, who lived close to Hartbeespoort Dam]. We were sitting on the stoep drinking coffee and smoking when Frans suddenly said: “I am quite keen to paint a veld fire”. Old Gustav looked at him and then at me, stood up and walked into the bush to light a fire for his friend. Frans made many sketches and when he was finished, Gustav loudly announced that they had better extinguish the huge fire before he loses his whole farm!’¹

Whether this story is apocryphal or not, Oerder’s Veld Fire evokes a typical scene in the dry winter months on the Highveld. It is in good company, with other significant veld fire scenes painted by various other artists: a watercolour, Bushveld Fire (1943), painted by Gerard Bhengu and now in the Standard Bank Corporate Art Collection; Kim Berman’s more recent series of emotional lithographic prints, Through the Wire, Lowveld Fire and Elements of Truth, Highveld; and in this sale, John Koenakeefe Mohl’s The Veld Fire Fighters, W Tvl (SA), Lot 26.

1. Huisgenoot, 9 October 1970.