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Johannesburg Art Gallery

Coordinates: 26°11′49″S 28°02′50″E / 26.197039°S 28.047104°E / -26.197039; 28.047104
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Johannesburg Art Gallery
Entrance of Johannesburg Art Gallery
Map
Established1910
LocationKlein and King George streets, Joubert Park, Johannesburg
Coordinates26°11′49″S 28°02′50″E / 26.197039°S 28.047104°E / -26.197039; 28.047104
TypeArt Museum
CuratorKhwezi Gule
Websitefriendsofjag.org

The Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. Recent reports indicate that the Gallery is potentially facing a spiral of rapid decline or institutional destruction. A civil society group and volunteer organisation called Friends of JAG has been formed to help ensure "the Johannesburg Art Gallery can maintain its collection of Picassos and Rodins, Sekotos and Pierneefs."[1] This deterioration has continued unabated since the collapse of a roofing section in 2017 due to poor maintenance. According to various media reports, the accelerated decline is due to 'inaction, corruption and theft' in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

It was once the largest gallery on the continent with a collection of more than 9000 artworks. The gallery collection is larger than that of the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town.[8]

The building, which was completed in 1915, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with Robert Howden working as supervising architect, and consists of 15 exhibition halls and sculpture gardens. It houses collections of 17th-century Dutch paintings, 18th- and 19th-century British and European art, 19th-century South African works, a large contemporary collection of 20th-century local and international art, and a print cabinet containing works from the 15th century to the present.

Collection

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Florence, Lady Phillips by 1903 Oil on canvas 193 x 155 cm by Giovanni Boldini (1842–1931) Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane

The initial collection was put together by Sir Hugh Lane, and exhibited in London in 1910 before being brought to South Africa. Florence, Lady Phillips, an art collector and wife of mining magnate Lionel Phillips, established the first gallery collection using funds donated by her husband.[9] Lady Phillips donated her lace collection and arranged for her husband to donate seven oil paintings and a Rodin sculpture to the collection. Some other small water drawings that collected through various Galleries thought to be less valuable and have being sold for collecting funds during the late 1950s and 1960s .

In 1940, Johannesburg Art Gallery became the first South African gallery to purchase a work of art by a black artist, acquiring Yellow Houses by Gerard Sekoto.[10][11] Since then, it has increasingly sought to address the colonial imbalances of its collection.[12]

The current collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Herbert Ward and Henry Moore, and South Africans such as Gerard Sekoto, Walter Battiss, Alexis Preller, Maud Sumner, Sydney Kumalo, Ezrom Legae and Pierneef. It also houses an extensive collection of the work of contemporary local artists. The works of black artists were acquired for the first time from the late 1980s.[13]

History

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A bitter Curaçao by William Orpen, 1900.

The Johannesburg Art Gallery collection was opened to the public in 1910, before the gallery itself had been built, and was housed at the University of the Witwatersrand. The architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, came to South Africa in 1910 to examine the site and begin the designs, after Lady Florence Phillips had secured funding from the city for a purpose-built museum. The building was built with a south-facing entrance, but was not completed according to the architect's designs—no part of the museum was broken down to let in the light. It was opened to the public, without ceremony, in 1915, just after the start of the First World War. The gallery was extended during the 1940s with east–west wings along the south galleries according to the Lutyens' design. The present north facade and galleries, constructed during the 1986–87 extension were designed by Meyer Pienaar and Associates.[14][15]

In recent years the building has been poorly maintained, with many gallery halls closed and notable artworks removed from display.[13] In 2023, the Oppenheimer family moved their collection from the deteriorating gallery to the Brenthurst Library.[16]

Citizen engagement

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The Johannesburg art gallery has been a major focus of urban regeneration programmes, used to provide the base for the Joubert Park Public Art Project[17] (JPP) . The JPP contributed to the artistic, cultural and social development of the Joubert Park precinct,[18] while developing links with community centres based in the surrounding area. The Friends of JAG have also lobbied to support & raise funds for Johannesburg Art Gallery,[19] and assist with running activities and educational programmes, intended "to nourish the roots of culture".[20]

There are growing concerns about City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality's poor maintenance of the Lutyens building, combined with deteriorating gallery conditions, such as water leaks and a lack of temperature control. This has caused concerns about the deterioration of "valuable and culturally significant art".[21] Calls to shift the art collection from the city has been made,[22] and a demand, from the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and the Friends of JAG, to the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, to respect their mandate of care for both the JAG building and the art collection therein, has been issued[23]

Chief curators

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  • P Anton Hendriks (1937–1964)
  • Nel Erasmus (1964–1977)
  • Pat Senior (1977–1983)
  • Christopher Till (1983–1991)
  • Rochelle Keene (1991–2003)
  • Clive Kellner (2004–2008)[24]
  • Antoinette Murdoch (2009 – January 2017)[25][26]
  • Musha Nehuleni (acting curator, January 2017 – December 2018)[27]
  • Khwezi Gule (2019–present) [28]

References

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  1. ^ Keun, Eben. "Friends of JAG". Friends of Jag. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  2. ^ Electoral Commission, Independent. "Election Results". IEC Election Results. IEC. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  3. ^ Patrick, Alex. "Art attack: Damaged, leaking Joburg Art Gallery displays empty cabinets and bare walls". News24. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  4. ^ Kayser-Echeozonjoku, Belinda. "DA blocked from oversight at Joburg Art Gallery". DA. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  5. ^ Talevi, Giulietta. "How inaction, corruption and theft in the City of Joburg are destroying Africa's most valuable art collection". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  6. ^ Associated, Press. "A top African art gallery struggles to keep its footing".
  7. ^ Krishna, Swapna. "A Leaky Roof Has Forced the Johannesburg Art Gallery to Temporarily Close". Smithsonian Mag. Smithsonian. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  8. ^ "An artistic treasure house in the middle of Joburg". City of Johannesburg. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  9. ^ Johannesburg Art Gallery – Reviews and Ratings of Sights in Johannesburg – New York Times Travel
  10. ^ "The Gerard Sekoto Foundation | The Artist | Gerard Sekoto's Life". www.gerardsekotofoundation.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Restored Gerard Sekoto Paintings". friendsofjag.org. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  12. ^ "The custodian: Khwezi Gule". The Mail & Guardian. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b Evans, Julia (31 March 2022). "PICTURE OF DECAY: Once vibrant Joburg Art Gallery is crumbling into ruin". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  14. ^ Jillian Carman Uplifting the Colonial Philistine: Florence Phillips and the making of the Johannesburg Art Gallery 2006 Johannesburg: Wits University Press ISBN 1-86814-436-4
  15. ^ "City of Johannesburg – An artistic treasure house in the middle of Joburg". Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  16. ^ Oppenheimers save African art from crumbling Johannesburg Art Gallery Business Live. 22 June 2023
  17. ^ Minty, Zayd, 1966-. Public art projects in post-apartheid South Africa: visual culture, creative spaces and postcolonial geographies. OCLC 841096216.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Staff Reporter (20 July 2001). "Joubert Park to host a major urban renewal project". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Friends of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG)". www.theheritageportal.co.za. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  20. ^ "#friendsofjag". friendsofjag.org. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  21. ^ Evans, Julia (31 March 2022). "Once vibrant Joburg Art Gallery is crumbling into ruin Once vibrant Joburg Art Gallery is crumbling into ruin". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  22. ^ Sonnekus, Simon. "Call to move art from Joburg Art Gallery to preserve priceless works". City Press. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  23. ^ Foundation, Johannesburg Heritage. "Letter of Demand issued over Johannesburg Art Gallery". Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  24. ^ "Clive Kellner heads off from JAG". City of Johannesburg. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  25. ^ "The JAG gets a new curator". City of Johannesburg. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  26. ^ "Why I Left JAG – Antoinette Murdoch". Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  27. ^ "But no one goes there any more, Joburg Art Gallery needs a new lease of life, Gabriel Crouse". Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  28. ^ https://joburg.org.za/media_/Newsroom/Pages/2023%20News%20Articles/February/Gule-and-team-passionately-rebuilding-the-JAG-to-preserve-our-past.aspx
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