Art, Design & Fashion
Landmark
Ernest Mancoba
1904 – 2002
The Black South African modernist who joined CoBrA in Europe
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Self-taught, he mentored Gerard Sekoto into art, then left for Europe, where he became the only African member of the CoBrA movement — and was written out of its history for decades.
Ernest Methuen Mancoba was born in Turffontein, Johannesburg, on 29 August 1904. He never had formal art training, taking his bearings from Lippy Lipshitz and Irma Stern, and worked first in sculpture, completing commissions for churches.
He was a close friend of Gerard Sekoto at Grace Dieu and the man who encouraged Sekoto to become an artist at all. Leaving for Paris in 1938, he joined the CoBrA movement after the war — its only African member — and spent his career in Europe. His place in the history of modernism was substantially overlooked until late in his very long life. He died in 2002.
He was a close friend of Gerard Sekoto at Grace Dieu and the man who encouraged Sekoto to become an artist at all. Leaving for Paris in 1938, he joined the CoBrA movement after the war — its only African member — and spent his career in Europe. His place in the history of modernism was substantially overlooked until late in his very long life. He died in 2002.
- South African History Online — Ernest Methuen Mancoba
- Wikipedia — Gerard Sekoto
- South African History Online — List of South African artists in exile
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