As part of the sale devoted to Modern and Contemporary African Art on Wednesday, June, 4, 2020, PIASA, in partnership with the South African auction house Aspire Auction, is excited to present a work of art by Irma Stern.
The numerous portraits Irma Stern painted sporadically throughout her life give insight into the artist’s close-knit circle of friends, social acquaintances, supporters and patrons. While many of the sitters served as subjects of aesthetic inspiration for Stern, a great number of her ‘society portraits’ were painted as formal commissions where the identity of the person was primary.
Dora Sowden was the eccentric music and arts critic for the former Johannesburg based progressive newspaper The Rand Daily Mail during the 1940s and 1950s. She was also married to the acclaimed novelist, poet and writer of cultural affairs Lewis Sowden, who in 1935 included Stern in his essay on Jewish Art in South Africa. The Sowden couple were prominent literary and cultural figures in Johannesburg at the time.
ƒ Irma Stern (1884-1966, South Africa)
Portrait of Dora Sowden, 1943
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated top left
57 x 51.5 cm
Lewis also published a review of Stern’s 1943 November exhibition at the Gainsborough Galleries – the same year this exquisite portrait of Dora wearing her signature headscarf, posed in deep thought, was painted. Stern beautifully renders the vivid image of this elegant woman with a warm sincerity. Expressively painted in vibrant colours, it is not void of emotion, yet not adorned with falsities.
Set against a brilliant emerald green background (like many of the artist’s portraits at the time), Stern attentively focuses on the facial features of the sitter, effectively highlighting her intelligence.
There is a calm sensuality in Dora’s portrayal as she leans a little forward and rests her face on her hand while her outward gaze lends a sense of mystery to the work.
