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ARAB PRIEST

Irma Stern was born on 2 October 1894, in Schweizer Reneke in what was still then the Transvaal Republic. The ensuing years of the South African War (Anglo-Boer War), provide insight into her early life, which was characterised by war, displacement and a lost sense of belonging due to travelling between Germany and South Africa. However, these journeys laid a unique path for her as, “the duality of her roots, which encompassed both Europe and Africa, proved fundamental to the construction of Stern’s unique identity and vital stimulus for her early work.”

Across her career she travelled across Africa and Europe, drawing inspiration from the experience and texture of colours that feel foreign when in a different space. Her travels across Africa during the height of World War 2 through journeys to the Belgian Congo (the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Zanzibar, “gave her enough stimulus and material for a flow of creative work that defined the high point of her career.” Among her iconic works from this period is The Arab Priest painted in 1945, while in Zanzibar.

Decades later, The Arab Priest’s story continued. In 2011 it became the most expensive South African painting sold at auction when it was purchased by the Qatar Museum (formerly Qatar Museums Authority) for $4.9 million. The purchase was the first-ever acquisition of a work of art representing a Muslim subject by a major South African artist for a prestigious art museum in the Arab world.

Following the sale, SAHRA intervened and refused to issue the permit based on the significance of the artwork to South Africa. Then manager of the Heritage Objects Unit, Regina Isaacs stated:

The artwork is over 50 years old and was produced by a prolific artist. The subject matter is about a spiritual person — an Arab priest. It is considered to be significant for South Africa because it is a valuable artistic document by a much-travelled South African artist, whose activities and artistic journey transcended and crossed boundaries of religion and culture. It serves as a valuable document for South Africans of mutual respect between diverse cultures and religions.

After an appeal against SAHRA’s decision, the permit committee approved the application and granted a temporary export permit for a period of 20 (twenty) years, where either a further temporary permit will be applied for, or, alternatively, a permanent export permit.

The painting returned in 2019 based on the conditions of the temporary permit. It was exhibited at Iziko South African National Gallery and Javett Art Centre in Pretoria. The return allows continued dialogue, accessibility and reflection. This was well captured in the 2019 exhibition, Irma Stern’s ‘Arab Priest’: Image and Context by the Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG). The exhibition sought to highlight and debate, “the assumed Orientalist subtexts that are evident in Stern’s work, as well as in works by her contemporaries in the dominant colonial culture of South Africa of the 1940s.”

This year, The Arab Priest returns and the dialogue continue. The return reaffirms SAHRA’s role towards safeguarding heritage and ensuring accessibility to cultural treasures. But as most well-crafted art, it continues to invite conversation within different contexts. Today our world is shaped by conversations of restitution and repatriation, and The Arab Priest provides an example of the different ways return is interpreted in light of these growing discussions.