Notes

The young woman in this portrait was one of the Laubser family employees on their farm, Oortmanspost, where this drawing was executed between 1924-6. The present owner’s grandmother and Maggie Laubser’s mother were sisters, bearing the maiden name Holm, and grew up together in the Koopmans de Wet House in Cape Town.

Laubser considered this one of her finest portraits and only parted with it numerous years after its completion when the present owner’s mother (Laubser’s cousin) married in 1934. The recipient was a close friend of Maggie’s who also knew the young lady depicted as, in their youths, they spent time together at Oortmanspost.

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist and thence by descent

Literature

Marais, Dalene. (1994) Maggie Laubser: her paintings, drawings and graphics, Johannesburg and Cape Town: Perskor. Illustrated on page 227, catalogue number 789.