Peter Magubane

Provenance

Aspire, Online, Aspire X PLP/African Photography Auction, 27 July 2021, lot 85.

The Georgina Jaffee Hair Matters Collection.

Notes

Selected by Curatorial Voice: Jared Leite.

The present lot, photographed by Peter Magubane, features the two singers Linda Mhlongo and Ruth Nkonyeni, who formed part of the chorus of King Kong: An African Jazz, the first all-black South African musical, which opened on 2 February 1959. The production was made possible through the Union of South African Artists and created new opportunities for black South Africans working in the arts.

King Kong: An African Jazz is based on the life of Ezekiel Dhlamini, born in 1925 in the Vryheid District of Natal. After leaving home at the age of 14 to work as a gardener, he made his way to Durban and later to Johannesburg in search of better economic prospects. In Johannesburg, he survived by playing cards and dice before finding his way to the sparring rooms of the Bantu Men’s Social Centre, where he became a professional boxer known as 'King Kong' and went on to win several championships. Despite his success, he was a troubled man whose volatile temperament led to his downfall. He was eventually sentenced to prison for the murder of his long-time girlfriend and took his own life at the age of 32, just two weeks into his sentence.¹

The musical’s cast comprised around seventy performers, many of whom had no prior theatrical experience. The production faced challenges under apartheid, including the frequent arrests of cast members for pass law violations, which often required them to be bailed out to return to rehearsals. There were also tensions with local gangsters believed to have connections to the real King Kong, who feared the production might reveal too much about his life and reportedly made threats against members of the cast.²

Two of the performers, Linda Mhlongo and Ruth Nkonyeni, earned a place on the cover of Drum Magazine, a landmark publication for black South Africans that focused on style, music and urban life. The photograph was taken by Peter Magubane, one of South Africa’s most important photographers, whose work captured both the everyday and extraordinary experiences of black South Africans under apartheid.³

Magubane began his career at Drum Magazine in 1954 as a messenger, quickly advancing to the role of photojournalist under the mentorship of Jürgen Schadeberg. Over the course of his career, he documented pivotal moments in South African history, including the Sharpeville Massacre, the Soweto Uprising and the lives of ordinary South Africans navigating the oppressive realities of apartheid. His images are celebrated for their combination of journalistic clarity and humanistic intimacy, portraying resilience, culture and identity in ways that challenged dominant stereotypes. Magubane’s work not only recorded history but helped shape the visual memory of a nation, bridging the gap between reportage, art and activism.⁴

^1. Unknown author (2022) South African History Online, King Kong the Musical 1959 -1961, online, accessed 13 November 2025.

^2. Ibid.

^3. Unknown author (no date) African Pictures, BAHA Drum Magazine cover, South Africa edition, April 1961, online, accessed 13 November 2025.

^4. Kylie Thomas (2024) The Conversation, Peter Magubane: courageous photographer who chronicled South Africa’s struggle for freedom, online, accessed 13 November 2025.