South African Attractions

Johannesburg Art Gallery
The idea to open an art gallery in johannesburg was born In 1904 when Lady Phillips, wife of the first chairman of the Rand Mines Company, sold her 21-carat ring to purchase three paintings by Wilson Steer. She used her wealthy connections to purchase more artwork over next 5 years. Sir Edwin Lutyens was commisioned to design the art gallery and the Johannesburg Art Gallery came to being.

The Johannesburg art gallery has arguably the best international collection in South Africa, including works by El Greco, Picasso, Rodin, Dalí, and Lichtenstein. The gallery is situated in Joubert Park and secure parking is available.

The gallery also has a good selection of South Africa's best black artists, including sculptures by Venda artist Jackson Hlungwani and paintings by Helen Sebidi, Alfred Toba, and Gerard Sekoto. The rather boring Flemish and Dutch collections are more than made up for by the Brenthurst Collection of African Art, comprising curios plundered by European explorers in the 19th century, and later collections of traditional southern African artworks.