29th Oct, 2025 12:00
Modern & Contemporary African & Middle Eastern Art
8
FRANS OERDER (SOUTH AFRICAN 1867-1944)
signed Frans Oerder lower right
oil on canvas
37 x 32.5cm; 14 1/2 x 12 3/4in
60.5 x 75cm; 23 3/4 x 29 1/2in (framed)
Property of a Private Collector, Cambridge
Provenance
Acquired from the artist by General Benjamin Viljoen, Amsterdam
Private Estate Sale in 1917, La Mesa, New Mexico
Direct descent to a Private Collector, California
The DinksFãStan Private Collection, Cambridge, UK
Frans Oerder, born in the Netherlands, studied at the Rotterdam Academy between 1880 and 1885. He was awarded the King William III Gold Medal and Bursary, which allowed him to tour Italy and study in Brussels with Ernest Blanc-Garin. In 1890, Oerder emigrated to South Africa, where he became one of only three professionally trained artists at the time. He taught at the Staatsmeisjesskool (later Pretoria High School for Girls), rented a studio, and earned a living through newspaper cartoons and assisting artist Anton van Wouw.
Oerder played a significant role in nurturing local talent. His studio attracted aspiring artists, including J H Pierneef, who would later become notable in his own right (see lot 7). Facing difficulties after the war, Oerder returned to the Netherlands in 1908. He married the still life painter Gerda Pitlo in Amsterdam in 1910, whose niece, it is believed, forms the subject of the present lot. After suffering from pneumonia, Oerder died in Pretoria in 1944. Throughout his life, he balanced his work between landscape, portrait, and still-life painting, remaining faithful to the Dutch painterly traditions which inspired his practice.
General Benjamin Viljoen, born in 1868, distinguished himself in key battles during the Anglo-Boer War, notably in the Vaal Krantz and later at the Battle of Helvatia, where he secured a significant victory and captured the Lady Roberts naval gun. After the war, Viljoen emigrated to the United States, where he played a pivotal role in establishing a Boer colony in Mexico with the assistance of Theodore Roosevelt and served as a military advisor during the Mexican Revolution. He passed away in 1917 in La Mesa, New Mexico.1
The present lot portrays a young girl leaning over a wooden fence. It is believed to depict the neice of Frans Oerders' wife, Gerde Pitlo (a flower painter), whom he married after relocating to Rotterdam in 1908.
1. Geni (no date) Generaal Ben Viljoen, online, https://www.geni.com/people/Generaal-Ben-Viljoen/6000000022245499624, accessed 30 May 2024.
signed Frans Oerder lower right
oil on canvas
37 x 32.5cm; 14 1/2 x 12 3/4in
60.5 x 75cm; 23 3/4 x 29 1/2in (framed)
Property of a Private Collector, Cambridge
Provenance
Acquired from the artist by General Benjamin Viljoen, Amsterdam
Private Estate Sale in 1917, La Mesa, New Mexico
Direct descent to a Private Collector, California
The DinksFãStan Private Collection, Cambridge, UK
Frans Oerder, born in the Netherlands, studied at the Rotterdam Academy between 1880 and 1885. He was awarded the King William III Gold Medal and Bursary, which allowed him to tour Italy and study in Brussels with Ernest Blanc-Garin. In 1890, Oerder emigrated to South Africa, where he became one of only three professionally trained artists at the time. He taught at the Staatsmeisjesskool (later Pretoria High School for Girls), rented a studio, and earned a living through newspaper cartoons and assisting artist Anton van Wouw.
Oerder played a significant role in nurturing local talent. His studio attracted aspiring artists, including J H Pierneef, who would later become notable in his own right (see lot 7). Facing difficulties after the war, Oerder returned to the Netherlands in 1908. He married the still life painter Gerda Pitlo in Amsterdam in 1910, whose niece, it is believed, forms the subject of the present lot. After suffering from pneumonia, Oerder died in Pretoria in 1944. Throughout his life, he balanced his work between landscape, portrait, and still-life painting, remaining faithful to the Dutch painterly traditions which inspired his practice.
Auction: Modern & Contemporary African & Middle Eastern Art, 29th Oct, 2025
If you want to start collecting striking modern and contemporary art in a newly developing market, our sales are for you. Each spring and autumn, the Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Department hold tightly curated, live and online auctions. Expect to find Arab artists such as Tahia Halim, Seif Wanly, Mahmoud Said and Mohanna Durra. African artists featured have ranged from modern masters such as Ablade Glover, Sam Ntiro and Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, to contemporary artists George Lilanga, Jilali Gharbaoui, Famakan Magassa, Christano Mangovo, Oluwole Omofemi, Esther Mahlangu and Brett Seiler.
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 26th October: 12pm to 4pm
Monday 27th October: 10am to 8pm (Drinks 5-8pm)
Tuesday 28th October: 10am to 5pm
