OLIEWENHUIS —
AN ART MUSEUM FOR BLOEMFONTEIN
For m a n y years the art loving c o m m u n ity in Bloem fontein felt a desperate need for a N ational A r t M useum . A t last this is becom ing a reality.
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Clement Seneque, landscape, c h a rc o a l a n d p e n c il on paper.
In the past, n um e ro u s attem pts were made to establish an A rt M u s e u m in Bloem fontein . U n fo rtu n a te ly these e ffo rts did not meet w ith m uch success. As early as 1959, Mrs. A nna Enslin, M em ber of the Provincial Council for Blo em fontein in itiated the idea of erecting a M u n ic ip a l A r t Gallery, w h ic h as part of a cu ltu ra l project for the city w a s to be incorporated into the Civic Centre. However, o w in g to fin a n c ia l d iffic u ltie s the M u n ic ip a lity w a s compelled to postpone the in co rp o ra tio n of certain sections of the building, one of w h ic h w a s the art gallery. M r A C. W hite, fo rm e r M ayor of Blo em fontein and art lover, donated the a m o u n t of £ 5 .4 7 4 to cover the costs for the com pletion of the Gallery. The A C. W h ite A r t Gallery w a s o ffic ia lly opened on 13 M ay 1976. U n fo rtu n a te ly the Gallery w a s recently closed due to a lack of support by the public.
S haron C ram p to n
O lie w e n h u is , fo r m e r re sidence to v is itin g G overnors-General and State Presidents, w a s released to the National M u se um on 19 June 1985 to be developed into an A r t M u se um A lth o u g h O lie w e n h u is c a nn o t o ffic ia lly be recognized as an A rt M u s e u m u ntil aspects such as lighting, h um idity, tem perature control, security, etc. can q u a lify according to M u s e um standards, activities in the gallery are none the less in fu ll force.
As in most other in s titu tio n s , the M u s e u m has acquired w o rk s of art by m eans of donations, bequests and acqu isitio n s, for exam ple the S cott-T rust and the Pieter de W a a l Benefaction (1962). This year the M u s e u m has acquired a sketch by Clement Seneque, a M a u d S u m ne r w a terc olo u r, oil p aintin g s by Pranas D om saitis and A therley Glossop, and a bronze bust donated by Laura Rautenbach.
A lth o u g h the M u s e u m can pride itself w it h a form id a ble art collection, the firs t p rio rity w ill be to build up a com prehensive collection of representative S outh A fric a n art, and to pervade on any possible gaps th a t m ay exist in the collection. A t the same time, the M u s e u m shall strive to w a rd s expanding on co nte m p orary S outh A fric a n art so as to acquire a collection th a t rig h tfu lly portrays the progression and standard of S outh A fric a n art.
It w ill be the objective of O lie w e n h u is to strive t o w a r d s the safekeeping and preservation of art, and the in terpretation thereof th r o u g h e x hibition and research. Looking fo rw a rd , O lie w e n h u is can be viewed w it h confidence and w it h a reliance of great th in g s to come.
A r c h ite c t plans fo r th e re n o v a tio n of
O lie w e n h u is h a v e b e e n f in a liz e d and
constru ctio n o f th e n e w A rt M u s e u m w ill co m m en c e during the first q u arter o f 1 9 8 8 .
Latest a c q u is itio n : M a u d Sum ner, landscape, w a te rco lo u r on paper.
Father C lae rh o u t in conversation w ith D r C.M. Engelbrecht, D ire cto r o f the N a tio n a l M useum , d u rin g a F rans C laerhout sales e x h ib itio n at O liew enhuis.
