The James Thackwray Story

An Artist Before His Time

The Cape Artist, James Thackwray (1919-1994) has often been compared to his contemporaries and friends such as Alexander Rose-Innes, Maurice von Essche, Professor Edward Roworth, and Professor Alfred Krenz. However, he never achieved the recognition which many feel he deserved, mainly due to his quiet unassuming manner and his failure to conform to the norms of the society in which he was to paint.

The subject of his paintings reflect the forced division of the peoples of his country, one which was not a popular subject amongst the artistic intelligentsia of the times. James Thackwray’s magnificent work, “Conversation with a Clown” evokes the feeling and anguish of a country uneasy with itself. The lack of eye contact between the woman and the clown illustrates the segregation and pain that apartheid created, the poignancy of the division evident in both faces.

Art Themes & Mediums – ‘Thackwrarian’ style

His primary medium was oil, and later in his career he employed the use of the palette knife to ‘produce a more realistic form of art.’ It was not unusual for him to burn any paintings which he did not believe came up to his “Thackwrarian” standard, and he left many of his paintings unsigned. His work is however immediately recognisable by its unmistakably style.

His paintings are a celebration of life and art. His robust approach to form and his restraint in the use of colour result in carefully constructed paintings in which perspective is a dominant factor. He is a sensitive and uncompromising Cape artist, who depicts his subjects with sincerity.

His work is distinctly South African in flavour, affording both critics and admirers an interpretation of the richness of this country and its people during challenging times, previously never illustrated by a white African Cape Artist.

James Thackwray

An Unassuming Master

By George Ross Munro

“It is with great pleasure that I have finally put together ‘James Thackwray – An Unassuming Master’, a literary work and record of the art of one of the most unassuming artists in South African History.

I hope that you as a reader will be as inspired as I, when I first discovered the artworks of James Vicary Thackwray, their simplicity and beauty, a feast for the eye.”

–  George Ross Munro

Haiku 1

Peculiar hush
of the African night
descends on the veld

The silence of the veld
is broken by the bark
of a bush buck

She stands with her lilies
on the street corner
hungry for the price of a meal

Haiku 2

Glaring tin shacks
rusting in sun and fog
shanty town

Over the shimmering horizon
into far corners
nothing but distance

Restless Atlantic ocean
melts the sands on the edges
of Namibian beaches

Haiku 4

Winter at rest
Summer awakens
prancing on the beach

From mountain heights
to valley below
endless trail

Deep blue sky
stars and full moon
exotic night

Haiku 5

Pages of the mind
recall
happy summer days

South Easter
wind of life
to sultry valley

Blackened sky
mass of locusts
down to devour