Gerard Sekoto is recognised as a pioneer of black South African modernism. He was born at Botshabelo Lutheran mission station in Mpumalanga in 1913 and studied at Grace Dieu, an Anglican training college for black school teachers. He worked as a teacher until 1939 when he moved to Johannesburg to pursue a career as an artist. Sekoto lived in the vibrant multiracial community of Sophiatown and the