Notes

This is the cottage in which Gregoire Boonzaier and his wife set up home when life in Cape Town became too expensive. In 1939 the outbreak of war and the effects of the Depression on the art market necessitated that Gregoire and wife Ruth Buchenbacher move to this rented farmhouse at Kanettefontein in the Bovlei area of Wellington.

Christine Siebrits, who was only 3 years old when her family moved to a neighbouring farm, recalls: “He was a wonderful person, very well read, and likeable. A great story teller, and always had a lot of time for us children. ... at some point in the evening, Gregoire Boonzaaier would seek out the children and tell them stories, and illustrate them with sketches.”¹

Boonzaier offers us a view of a very humble, sparsely furnished, traditional Cape Dutch farmhouse. The partly deserted interior with its broad plank floors, possibly yellowwood, and somewhat disjointed stable-type outside door, emphasise the hardships suffered by the artist at the time. Yet one can just imagine how such a scene would be animated by the laughter of local children delighted by his stories and sketches.

1. http://www.paarlpost.com/cgib/article?newsid=11461