Next to the Apies River

This painting is titled Next to the Apies River by the Dutch-born South African artist Anton van Wouw (1862-1945). Although Van Wouw is better known for his sculpture in South Africa he started his career in the country as a painter. This scene he depict is of Hove's Drift near the centre of the city Pretoria, today. In the far background a mining operation can be seen. Short biography: Anton van Wouw was born on 26 December 1862 in Driebergen in the Netherlands. He started life after school as a stucco worker in Delft where he learnt to sculpt. He also started to study at the Rotterdam Academy for Arts but stopped his studies to join his father and brother in South Africa. After having a hard time as an artist in the early beginnings of his career of the then Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (South African Republic), Van Wouw finally got his big break when Sammy Marks, a rich industrialist, commissioned Van Wouw to create the famous Kruger Memorial, currently situated on Church Square in the centre of South Africa's Capital city Pretoria. From there, Van Wouw went from creating over 10 large monuments, as well as more than 100 other sculptures in his lifetime. Anton van Wouw passed away in Pretoria in 1945 just after completing his largest work, a figure of Woman and Children for the Voortrekker Monument.