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Samuel Daniell, The Klipspringer, aquatint, 1831 (Iziko
William Fehr Collection)
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The William Fehr Collection is exhibited at the
Castle of Good Hope
and Rust en Vreugd, both historic
buildings. The Castle, Cape Town’s oldest building, houses the
component of oil paintings, furniture and decorative arts. Rust en
Vreugd, a very fine example of colonial eighteenth century urban architecture,
houses the art on paper – prints, drawings and watercolours.
The artefacts including the art works date from the late seventeenth
to the early nineteenth century, the period of Dutch colonial settlement
and, after 1795, the era of British occupation. The art works in particular
constitute a uniquely rich and important resource for many aspects
of the history of the period.
The collection reflects the outlook and aesthetics of a single collector,
William Fehr (1892–1968), and his social context, and so differs
from most museum collections that are the result of selection by museum
staff over an extended period. William Fehr’s private collection
was first displayed at the Castle in 1952 during the Van Riebeeck
Tercentenary Festival. Here a large proportion remained on loan until
the whole collection was acquired by the South African government
in the years 1964–5 and then distributed between the Castle and
Rust en Vreugd. The portion of the collection at Rust en Vreugd was
presented by William Fehr as a gift to the nation. |
