Lecture – Stern vs Tretchikoff

Join Dr Alastair Meredith, Senior Art Specialist and Art Department Head at Strauss & Co for the lecture Stern vs Tretchikoff.  

Art historians have positioned Stern and Tretchikoff very differently within the story of South African modernism. While both are now household names in the country, their careers had markedly different trajectories. Stern, after her foundational training in Germany and her famous painting expeditions, exhibited across local and European museums and institutions. 

Tretchikoff, a self-taught artist and marketing man in China, Singapore and Indonesia, found popularity after moving to Cape Town after the War, regularly showing his work in department stores and public spaces. Both artists enjoyed enormous success in their own ways, and made iconic paintings that remain instantly recognisable.