Notes

One of the many other decorative elements that Skotnes produced for the President Hotel was a flower planter with botanical motifs in bas-relief. The present lot is the mould for the main frieze of the planter, formed in concrete under the watch of the Lupini Brothers, and featuring a typically imaginative snaking vine of stylised spines, leaves and thorns. The quality of the modelling and casting underlines the crucial collaborative relationship between artist and craftsman. With this in mind, the President Hotel should also be seen as an important example of the contemporary trend of enlisting local artists and craftsmen to develop cohesive decorative programmes for state, civic and public buildings in South Africa. Work at the Hyde Park Shopping Centre stands as a good example, as do the monumental, landmark murals and mosaics by Alexis Preller, Battiss and Sash in the Transvaal Provincial Administrative Building in Pretoria.

Provenance

The President Hotel