Notes

At the age of 24, Gregoire Boonzaier went to study in London and spent three years travelling through Europe and studying the works of Impressionists and Post-Impressionists like Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Van Gogh and Utrillo first-hand, which was highly influential on his own practice. A founding member of the New Group and the second chairman of the SA Association of Arts, Boonzaier became well-recognized as a Cape Impressionist artist and an influential member of the local art establishment. In 1963, in true impressionistic manner, Boonzaier, with an easel and paintbox, stood in Tennant Street, District Six, to accurately capture a peaceful moment in this iconic place. The textured walls with flaking plaster show the age of the buildings. The cloudy Cape sky contrasts with sharp and lively shades of blues and greens. The light blue water of the harbour is visible in the distance and the fading mountains beyond. A car is parked and a few people walk along, getting on with their day, unaware of the destruction to come, when three years later, the area was declared ‘for whites-only’ under the apartheid government’s Group Areas Act, and the residents were forcibly moved away and most of the buildings demolished.

Provenance

Strauss & Co, Johannesburg, 14 September 2021, lot 24.