Fanie Eloff

Eloff along with other influential South African Artists like Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, Gerard Moerdijk and Gordon Leith attended the Staats Model School in Pretoria until the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902). The Eloff family followed Paul Kruger into exile in Switzerland after the fall of Pretoria on 3 September 1900. He enrolled at the South African School of Mines in Johannesburg for a course in geology. In 1908, Fanie decided to further his studies in Europe, at the Sorbonne University in Paris. After a short time in Paris he was so inspired by the sculpture of the city that he decided to follow this as a career. He firstly enrolled for an Anatomy course at the Jardin Des Plantes and Eloff received his first sculpture classes at the art school of Peter David Edstrom, in Paris. • Illustration — Boxer by Fanie Eloff, Bronze (1912) 1050mm high In 1912 he took part in the 130 De Salon, Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées and created his work titled the Boxer. After the acclaim this work received in the press, locally and abroad he was admitted to Union Internationale des Beaux-Arts et des Lettres. In 1924 he entered 2 sculptures in the Olympic Games in Paris of which Boxer was one. Through his love of all art he came to love Ballet and the performing arts, and became friends with a lot of dancers. He ‘contracted’ a lot of the dancers to pose for him and became known for his dancing nudes. In 1945, South African Academy of Science & Art, awarded Fanie with the Medal of Honour for art. His health gradually deteriorated during this time, and as a result his productivity reduced. He died during emergency surgery at the General Hospital in Pretoria. His entire estate, including the contents of his studio in Paris, was put on public auction in 1948. Buried in the Rebecca street cemetery in Pretoria West.

• Name — Fanie Eloff • Birth Name — Stephanus Johannes Paulus Eloff • Born — 7 October 1885 • Birthplace — Pretoria • Died — 20 November 1947 • Place of death — Pretoria • Field — sculpture • Training — Staatsmodelschool Johannesburg School of Mines University of Paris Jardin des Plantes Peter David Edstrom • Movement — Impressionism • Works — Spirit of Sport, Pilditch Stadium Koos de la Rey, Lichtenburg Cemetery Boxer, University of Pretoria • Awards — Honorary Membership Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1912

1912 - Individualist exhibition - Pretoria City Hall 1929 - Eloff and Pierneef joint exhibition - Jewish Guild Hall, Johannesburg 1941 - Eloff and Pierneef joint exhibition - Pierneef's House Elangeni, Pretoria 1948 - Auction exhibition - Christie's Gallery, Johanneburg 2011 - Overview exhibition - Mapungubwe Museum, University of Pretoria