Gerard Sekoto facts for kids

Gerard Sekoto (born December 9, 1913 – died March 20, 1993) was a famous South African artist and musician. He is known as one of the first black artists to show everyday life in cities and real-life issues in his art. His paintings were shown in many places around the world, like Paris, Stockholm, Venice, Washington, and Senegal, as well as in South Africa.

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Gerard Sekoto was born on December 9, 1913. His birthplace was a Lutheran Mission Station in Botshabelo, near Middelburg. This area is now known as Mpumalanga in South Africa. His father, Andreas Sekoto, was a priest and a teacher. He even started a school called Wonderhoek.

Sekoto grew up with music. He learned to play the family harmonium when he was very young. As a child, he loved to draw using chalk, paper, and colored pencils. His artistic talent really started to show when he was a teenager. He attended the Diocesan Teachers Training College in Pietersburg. This school was special because it offered drawing classes and other crafts.

At Grace Dieu, a part of the college, Sekoto became close friends with the sculptor Ernest Mancoba. Mancoba was also his mentor and encouraged Sekoto to become an artist. Even though the school taught sculpting, Sekoto preferred to paint and draw on his own.

After finishing college, Sekoto worked as a teacher at Khaiso Secondary School for four years. During this time, he secretly pursued his passion for art. He even entered an art competition organized by the Fort Hare University. He won second prize, while George Pemba won first. Sekoto was very private about his art. He would hide his work and only show it to his closest friends like Louis Makenna, Nimrod Ndebele, and Ernest Mancoba.

In 1938, at age 25, Sekoto decided to become a full-time artist. He moved to Johannesburg and lived with relatives in Sophiatown. His first art show was held in 1939. A year later, in 1940, the Johannesburg Art Gallery bought one of his paintings. This was a big moment because it was the first time a painting by a black artist was bought by a museum in South Africa.

Sekoto moved again in 1942 to District Six in Cape Town. He lived with the Manuel family there. He also met George Pemba, another artist, during this time. In 1945, he moved to Eastwood, Pretoria, where he lived with his mother, stepfather, and brother. Many people believe that some of Sekoto's best work comes from this period. These years are often called "the golden years of his art" because it was the last art he created in South Africa before moving to Paris.

Life in Exile

"Mother and Child", 1959

In 1947, Gerard Sekoto left South Africa and moved to Paris. He chose to live there because of the difficult situation with apartheid in his home country. Many people who knew his art felt a great loss when he left.

Life in Paris was hard at first. Sekoto found a job by chance as a pianist at a popular nightclub called l'Echelle de Jacob (Jacob’s Ladder). This club had just reopened after World War II. He played jazz, sang "Negro spirituals", and popular French songs. Music became a way for him to earn money for his living and art school.

Sekoto was interviewed by a man named Chabani Manganyi during his time in Paris. Manganyi described Sekoto as someone who loved life very much. He also said that Sekoto's artistic talent remained very strong.

Between 1956 and 1960, some of Sekoto's musical compositions were published. He played piano and sang on several records. He wrote 29 songs, many of which were sad and spoke about the loneliness of being away from home. However, they also showed his incredible courage in trying to survive in a new culture. In 1966, he visited Senegal for a year.

In the 1970s, Sekoto's paintings became more political. This was because of the apartheid system in South Africa. In 1989, the Johannesburg Art Gallery held a special exhibition of his work. The University of Witwatersrand also gave him an honorary doctorate degree. Gerard Sekoto passed away on March 20, 1993, at a retirement home near Paris.

Artistic Style and Impact

Gerard Sekoto is seen as a pioneer for South African artists. He had a big impact on South Africa by showing the social conditions of black people living in cities through his art. He was one of the first artists to bring this human perspective into South African art.

During his time in Paris, Sekoto created many drawings and took photographs. His drawings showed the places he visited and lived in. His black and white photographs often showed him playing the guitar or piano.

Sekoto's paintings can be found in many important art galleries around the world. These include:

• Johannesburg Art Gallery
• Pretoria Art Gallery
• University of South Africa Art Gallery
• South African National Gallery
• Cape Town William Humphreys Museum
• William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley
• Gallery Guildhall
• Municipal Collection of the City of Paris
• Philadelphia Museum of Art

Well-Known Works

• 1939
  • "Poverty in the midst of Plenty" - Watercolour and pastel on brown paper
  • "Interior Sophiatown"
  • "Lutheran Church at Botshabelo"
• 1940
  • "Migrant Workers" - Gouache on paper
  • "Yellow Houses"
  • "The Soccer Game"
• 1942
  • "Interior with Woman" - Oil on canvas
  • "Three Women"
  • "Three figures with Bicycle Sophiatown" - Oil on canvas board
  • "The Miners"
  • "Cyclists in Sophiatown"
• 1944
  • "Prison Yard"
• 1945
  • "The Wine Drinker"
  • "Prisoners Carrying a Boulder"
  • "Portrait of Cape Coloured School Teacher - Omar"
  • "Children Playing"
  • "Houses: District Six"
  • The Gossips - Signed watercolour on paper
• 1946
  • "Women and Child - Eastwood Pretoria"
• 1947
  • "Mine Boy - Oil on canvas board"
  • "Sixpence a Door" - Oil on canvas board
  • "Song of the Pick" - Oil on canvas board
  • "Mary Dikeledi Sekoto"
  • "Self-Portrait"
  • "Portrait of Anna, The Artist's Mother"
  • "Portrait of a Young Man Reading"
  • "Outside the Shop"
  • "Beyond the Gate"
  • "The Donkey Cart, Eastwood"
  • "The Proud Father, Manakedi Naky on Bernard Sekoto's Knee"
  • "The Artists Mother and Stepfather at Home in Eastwood"
• 1949
  • "Eye Glasses" - Charcoal on paper
  • "Sore Eye" - Charcoal on paper
  • "The Black Beret" - Charcoal on paper
  • "Paris; Pont Marie"
• 1953
  • "Besotho Women"
• 1955
  • "Woman and Children"
• 1959
  • "Rider on Horseback" - Oil on canvas
• 1960
  • "Blue Head" - Gouache on paper
  • Woman's Head - Signed gouache/paper
• 1961
  • "Jazz Band" - Oil on board
• 1963
  • "Woman's Head"
  • "Township Gossip"
• 1968
  • "The Three Figures" - Gouache on paper
• 1971
  • "Township Scene"
• 1975
  • "Woman with a Patterned Headscarf"
• 1978
  • "Homage to Steve Biko" - Oil on canvas
• 1979
  • "The Bull" - Oil on canvas
  • "Portrait of Woman" - Oil on canvas board