Irma Stern was a modernist painter who helped shape the visual language of 20th century South African art. Born in Schweizer-Reneke to German-Jewish parents, Stern spent her early years between South Africa and Europe, studying under Max Pechstein and soaking up German Expressionism. Her paintings are bold, colourful, sculptural and psychologically deep and often depict African life and landscapes through a lens of empathy and reverence rather than exoticism.

Throughout her career Stern was both admired and controversial – a woman asserting her vision in a man’s world and an artist navigating complex cultural and political realities. Her portraits and still lifes are full of life and express not only external beauty but the inner intensity of the subject. Today Irma Stern is one of Africa’s most important modern artists, her work is celebrated for its authenticity, humanism and timelessness.