Natalie Knight’s rich collection of African art now available for purchase

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

South African art doyenne, a writer art researcher, author, curator and gallerist Natalie Knight, has played a major role in elevating the status of South African art and its artists. She has put in several years of research, collecting and marketing South African art and its artists, locally and abroad.

Having started getting involved in South African art in the 1970s, when she abandoned a career in law where she was admitted as an attorney, Knight went back to university to study history of art, and graduated with a BA in history of art and history of drama at Wits. That was in the 1970s, after which she launched herself into the field of art, first as an art critic, along the way counting important figures in art such as the late highly respected South African art historian, critic and author, Esme Berman, as her mentors.

That saw Knight embark on a long career as a researcher of African art, particularly Tsonga/Shangaan art and Ndebele art, scouring the rural areas of Northern and East Transvaal, now Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga Province respectively, in a long career of field research that saw her put in the public domain, prestigious galleries and internationally reputed museums, the work of these rural artists, and therefore elevating their profile and status as practising artists.

That hard work, eventually culminated in international exhibitions for these South African artists, such as in London and Washington DC, consolidating Knight’s foothold on South African art and its marketing by launching the Natalie Knight Gallery in 1981. The gallery after calling a few locations its home, became an internationally reputed art institution when it launched at Hyde Park Corner. That became its home from 1985 till 1995, where major exhibitions involving South African and international artists had exhibitions. From Alfred Thoba to William Kentridge, Velaphi Mzimba to Andy Warhol, Johannes Maswanganye to David Hockney, among others, all had works exhibited at the Natalie Knight Gallery at the height of its success.

Besides exhibiting the works of then little known South African artists, developing their careers into recognisable names in art, Knight also facilitated the inclusion of these artists in prestigious museums, such as Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Museum of African Art and Museum of Modern Art, among others.

In this art journey that Natalie carved for South African art, then little known South African artists, including now internationally renowned Ndebele painter Dr Esther Mahlangu, enjoyed international exposure through Natalie’s curatorial and marketing efforts, exhibiting internationally.

By the time she wound down the Natalie Knight Gallery in 1995 to focus on her own spiritual needs, she had an impressive collection of South African art.

Now that rich art inventory, is being made available to collectors on a new website that went live from late last year, and beginning this May, collectors have an opportunity to browse through the website to view as yet not publicly exhibited art works from her extensive collection. The works are now available for purchase.

CITYLIFE/ARTS this week on Thursday, May 14, 2026, was given an exclusive tour of some of the art works in her collection at her home, East of Johannesburg. The collection of African art is huge, from Esther Mahlangu to Sam Nhengethwa, Collen Mswanganye to Velaphi Mzimba, among other artists that are now part of the body of work now available for collecting on the natalieknightartcollection.com website.

Stylistically the collection in her possession ranges from sculptural works, beadwork, textile, ceramics to paintings.

“On the website, we do not only offer a selection of top quality and valuable African art works, but the website also operates as a resource for knowledge as we give as much information as possible about each work and the artist behind the work. We therefore, also play the role of education, as knowledge production in art is very important,” Natalie who at 88 is still healthy and about, told CITYLIFE/ARTS in an interview.

To view the works that are up for grabs go to: https://natalieknightartcollection.com