Otto Landsberg 1803–1905: 19th Century South African Artist by Simon A. de Villiers. De Luxe Edition (1974)

Published by C. Struik.

The Artist Who Was Almost Forgotten

For decades after his death, Otto Landsberg’s artistic contributions to South Africa were virtually invisible to the public. He lived to the extraordinary age of 101, spending his long life in Cape Town working as a multi-talented force: an art teacher, musician, a prominent artist, and a highly successful snuff merchant and manufacturer.

Despite his prolific output capturing 19th-century Cape landscapes and portraits, his work vanished from the public eye. As late as 1952, a prominent art historian recorded that not a single one of Landsberg’s paintings could be traced. It appeared his artistic legacy had completely evaporated.

The turning point came in 1956 when his grandson, Auguste d’Artre, bequeathed a massive, private family collection of over 70 of Landsberg’s paintings to the Potchefstroom Museum. This sudden resurfacing completely rewrote the record on 19th-century Cape art and directly paved the way for Simon A. de Villiers to compile this definitive study nearly two decades later.

The Portrait
The small photograph featured on the limitation page shows Landsberg in his later years, sporting the magnificent, iconic beard he was well known for in the Cape during the late Victorian era.

Limited De Luxe Edition of 100 copies, this being No. 44.

Very good condition.

245mm x 290mm

R3,000