Stainbank gallery opens
The much-anticipated opening of the Mary Stainbank Memorial Gallery takes place on Tuesday, 26 November at Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve.
The gallery will be home to Mary Stainbank’s art collection which is the largest intact collection of an artist’s work. The collection was previously housed at Voortrekker Museum, Pietermaritzburg but due to restructuring, the collection was returned to the family and kept in secure storerooms. The gallery, which is located in a recently restored wing of the Wilderness Leadership School, is the mirror image of her original studio. Included in her collection are sculptures, working casts, manuscripts and drawings.
Her work also included ‘The Flower Sellers’ on the corner of Monty Naicker ( Pine Street) and Gardiner Streets, the gargoyle-like figures above the old Receiver of Revenue building, the ‘John Ross’ statue on Margaret Mncadi Street ( formerly Victoria Embankment). After studying art at the Royal College of Art in 1927, Mary returned to the family farm, Ndaba Nkulu and worked at the Natal Technical College, where she taught for 27 years. Her studio was located in the upper area of the dairy, which is currently occupied by the Wilderness Leadership School.
For more information, contact Cherrly Curry on 031-462-8642 or 031-462-4656 or call Jenny Birtwhistle on 083-419-6428.
– mbalim@dbn.caxton.co.za
