Lot 795: Amos Langdown (South African 1930-2006) NA DIE AAND SE VANGS signed oil on

Amos Langdown (South African 1930-2006) NA DIE AAND SE VANGS signed oil on canvas 73 by 89,5cm

Amos Langdown was born in Plettenberg Bay in 1940. Trained as a teacher at the Zonnebloem College in Cape Town, he was involved in the South African schooling system for many years, maintaining a balance between his passion for teaching and his artistic practise. Langdown’s first solo exhibition in 1960, while he was studying part-time at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, resulted in him being awarded a government grant to study abroad. The influence and guidance of his mentor, Katrine Harries, during this period is evident in his work with its firm basis in draughtsmanship, composition and its graphic quality.

During his lifetime, Langdown participated is various international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, and his work appears in such prestigious collections as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. Langdown has proved himself a great social commentator of life on the Cape Flats as well as the lifestyle of fishing communities across the Cape, evidenced in his magnanimous work, Na die Aand se Vangs, lot 795, which is infused with sympathetic insight and sentiment. Langdown’s palette is one of softness and subtlety, favouring characteristic hues of red-brown in his depiction of the Cape people, who appear to float upon his canvases.

“As I dip my brush into paint, I dip it into my soul and he who cannot appreciate this, does not have a soul.”
- Amos Langdown

SOUTH AFRICAN