“The Wiles Gallery”, Bathurst

I have long been an admirer of Lucy Wiles’s fresh watercolours of South Africa’s people, so you can well imagine my delight at discovering the Wiles Gallery at Bathurst on my recent visit to Grahamstown. Bathurst is a quaint little town just outside Grahamstown, where time has stood still and well known by students for the legendary “Pig and Whistle”, where many a Rhodes student has stopped off to quench his or her thirst.

The “Wiles Gallery” is a relatively new addition to the area, having been built only seven months ago. This was an obvious stop for me and I was not disappointed. Jane Wiles, owner of the gallery and daughter of Lucy Wiles was in the gallery herself as it was the week of the Festival. Jane is a highly recognized artist in her own right and the gallery boasts a number of her magnificent seascapes. Her interest lies in light, nature and water and so it is no surprise that Jane sees the sea as her “most nurturing subject”. Jane chatted warmly with us and spoke nostalgically of her time on the Kwazulu Natal coast. Based in Mtunzini for some years, she lectured in literature at the University of Zululand. Only when I arrived home did I remember having received an invitation to one of her exhibitions many years ago and made the connection.

Jane is the fourth generation of artists. Henry Wiles was one of the youngest gold medallists of the Royal Academy at the University of Cambridge. He was a sculptor who studied in Rome and Naples. His son, Walter was best known for his interpretations of the seashore, so it is no wonder that Jane shares a love of the sea and coastline. Walter’s son, Brian was determined to be a writer. He, too, became a renowned South African artist and married Lucy Mullins – now so well known to us as Lucy Wiles. Lucy studied under Nils Anderson. So with both parents being artists Jane’s decision to open a gallery and her desire to spend time painting, which she describes as “doing what she wants to do” is hardly surprising.

Her mother still lives in Knysna, but will be moving to Port Alfred shortly. In her eighties, she is still painting to supply the gallery and if her most recent flower painting is anything to go by, the standard of her work continues to amaze.



Certainly, my discovery of the “Wiles Gallery” at Bathurst was a memorable highlight of a week spent at the Grahamstown Festival.

Sculptor Maureen Quin

Maureen Quin is no stranger to the Grahamstown Arts Festival, having started exhibiting at Rennie Hall in the Albany Museum in 1992. What is, however, very refreshing about Maureen’s approach is the interactive nature of her Festival exhibitions. As she puts it: “I wanted to break away from the stereotype of exhibitions which are basically empty, silent and intimidating spaces for viewing art.” Her approach is to encourage interaction, communication and participation.

So it is that one enters Rennie Hall with a sense of anticipation. We found Maureen busy working on a portrait of a friend. She had taken numerous photographs of the model and these were displayed on a board in front of where she was working. She was deeply involved, building up the form with small pieces of clay. Viewing the original bronzes on display, however, made one instantly aware that what was happening was far more than just capturing the physical features of her model, for Maureen has a rare ability to capture the essence and spirit of her subject. Her bronzes have a presence that stays with you and leave an indelible impression on your mind.



Maureen was born and schooled in the Bloemfontein district. She studied sculpture in Durban and then went on to further her studies in London. She is a professional sculptor with numerous public and private commissions to her name and she has had more than 40 solo exhibitions and has participated in more than twenty group exhibitions. She is represented in most art collections in South Africa. She received the silver medal of the University of Pretoria for her outstanding contribution to art and the Premier’s award for promoting sculpture in the Eastern Province.

Maureen’s husband, Etienne, is obviously one of her greatest admirers and he was quick to engage in conversation and supply us with details of her working methods, past commissions and an extremely important project that she will be involved in the months ahead.

Maureen and Etienne live in Alexandria in the Eastern Cape and her sculptures are permanently on display to the public in the “Sculpture Garden” at her home. This would obviously be well worth a visit, but the exceptional quality of her work ensures that we will no doubt be hearing a great deal more about this extremely talented sculptor in the not too distant future.