bust of a woman, Hezekiel Ntuli

With piercing eyes and a furrowed brow, this portrait bust of an unidentified woman possesses a powerful expression. Sculptor Hezekiel Ntuli rendered his subject’s features in minute detail with expressive flourishes. Ntuli, who lived and worked in present-day South Africa, is known for his ingenuity as a clay sculptor.

From childhood Ntuli made clay animal sculptures, and as a teenager he began selling his art in the commercial center of Pietermaritzburg. Colonial authorities noted his talent and contracted him as an artist for the Department of Native Affairs, but due to the discriminatory policies of the apartheid government, he was denied a formal education. Despite this, he remained an active and innovative artist. After a large number of his artworks were donated to the Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, he became one of the first Black artists in the region to be recognized by name in a public museum.