Irma Stern

South African artist Irma Stern acquired a reputation for wanderlust during the mid-twentieth century, painting her way through innumerable African countries after her first exhibition in Berlin in 1919. (Stern, born in Transvaal to German-Jewish immigrants, refused to show in Germany between 1933 and 1945, instead traveling through Zanzibar, Senegal and the Congo.) Her paintings and sculptures mostly depicted exotic faces and bodies, images that tantalized the Western art world.

And if the recent sale of her 1945 “Bahora Girl” for £2.4 million (US$3.78 million) by London’s Bonhams auction house is any indication, Stern can still cause quite a stir. The sale sets a world record auction price for South African art; some forecasters predict it might spark renewed interest in South African artists.

“Bahora Girl,” an oil on canvas, depicts a sultry-looking, young Zanzibari Indian slouched casually in her bedroom.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Her mode of speech was so polite and well-formulated,” Stern once said of her subject, according to a Bonhams press release. “It was a lovely harmony in this young girl, slim and tall, with the gently movements of a well-bred race. Her eyes were like dark pools, swimming with the glance of tragedy curious in so young a face, yet so common in the eastern woman.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount