Oliewenhuis Art Museum

About Oliewenhuis Art Museum

Oliewenhuis Art Museum is still a relatively young museum even by South African standards. Being only 13 years old, the Museum has shown a steady and interesting growth in its collection. The permanent collection, which is frequently rearranged, is housed on the first floor and is devoted exclusively to works produced by South African artists. It has a solid foundation of early South African artists, and includes works by Thomas Baines, Jan Ernst Volschenk, Pieter Wenning, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef and Willem Coetzer. The Museum is still in the fortunate position to be able to continually expand on its collection of contemporary South African artists.

A considerable number of works have been acquired through donations and bequests; outstanding among these is a collection of works from the City Council of Bloemfontein. This collection, which was ceded to Oliewenhuis Art Museum at its inception in 1989, together with art works from the National Museum's permanent collection, formed the nucleus for the future Art Museum worthy of the Provincial capital. A large collection of works donated by the Haenngi Foundation (as a result of the demise of the Pelindaba Museum of African and Modern Art) has assisted the Museum in building a core collection representing works of some of South Africa's most celebrated artists.