Portrait of Paul Kruger

A 1915 linocut of the portrait of Paul Kruger (1825-1904) by the South African artist, JH Pierneef (1886-1957). Beyond his iconic landscape scenes, Pierneef was also well-known for his graphic works and completed over 220 linocuts and etchings during his lifetime. This portrait of Paul Kruger, the last president of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek, was completed in 1915, but only published in 1921 in the Afrikaans newspaper known as "Die Burger", a New Year's edition. This portrait linocut was the first artwork that was owned by the University of Pretoria as a copy of the Linocut was donated by the artist, J H Pierneef for the first museum on campus in 1922, this museum was in the Old Arts Building in the space currently occupied by the Mapungubwe Archive. Short Biography: Jacob Hendrik (Henk) Pierneef was born in 1886 in Pretoria, South Africa. As a child, he studied art at school, along with other students who would later become well-known artists, such as Fanie Eloff for sculpture and Gordon Leith for architecture. In 1900, Pierneef went with his parents to The Netherlands as a means to avoid the hostilities of the South African War (1899-1902) where he studied at the Rotterdam Art Academy. Pierneef returned to South Africa in 1904 and studied under the prominent artists Anton van Wouw, Frans Oerder and Hugo Naude. In 1913, Pierneef had his first solo exhibition and rapidly became one of the most recognised names in South African art. In 1929 he was commissioned to create panels for the new Johannesburg Railway station, a project which today would be seen as one of his greatest achievements. Pierneef received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria in 1957 in recognition of his work, shortly after in the same year he passed away in Pretoria.