Dr WJ Leyds

The bronze sculpture is a portrait of Willem Johannes Leyds (1859-1940) by the sculptor Fanie Eloff. Leyds was a personal friend of Eloff and they often practiced music together as Leyds was an avid violinist. In 1884 Leyds would become the State Attorney of the ZAR (the South African Republic in Dutch) and in 1889 the State Secretary of the South African Republic. The sculpture was donated by the artist to the University of Pretoria Merensky Library in 1937 as Leyds donated a vast collection of books to the library. The South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek; the ZAR) was an independent and internationally recognised state located in what is now South Africa, from 1852 to 1902. Short Biography: The sculptor, better known as Fanie, was born in 1885 in Pretoria South Africa. In 1910 his father sent him to France to study mining – after spending a couple of months in Paris he decided to rather study art. This had his father livid and he was cut off financially. In 1912, at the 130th Salon exhibition at the Grand Palais de Champs-Elysees in Paris, Fanie was the only sculptor to compete against the world-famous French sculptor, Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917). When Rodin took part in a competition all the sculptors of Paris withdrew their entries as they complained that they simply could not win against such as formidable artist. This did not deter Eloff, who was also the grandson of the Late President Paul Kruger (of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek), he entered the competition with this work titled 'The Boxer'. Eloff walked away with the prize and received much praise for this feat. Not only did he win the prize, he also sent a newspaper clipping home to his mother, who in turn showed it to his father. Eloff’s Father was rather impressed and decided that the boy had artistic talent, and he reinstated his financial aid to his son. After this Eloffed moved between South Africa and France and became famous for his figures of ballet dancers and sportsmen. Eloff had to flee Paris with the advent of the Second World War (1939-1945) and permanently returned to South Africa. He dies in Pretoria in 1947 during emergency surgery.