George Milwa Mnyalaza Pemba

George Milwa Mnyalaza Pemba

One of South Africa’s pioneer black painters, George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba, was born in Hill’s Kraal in Korsten, Port Elizabeth on the 2 April 1912, the second youngest of six children to parents Titus and Rebecca. His father was a foreman at a shoe factory and an elder of their Presbyterian church, whilst his mother’s side of the family were craftsmen, dressmakers and tailors. As a child Pemba’s father encouraged him to draw and to paint, which he did in their family home, creating portraits from his father’s photographs. He continued to concentrate on portraits for his career and looked closely at depicting the rural and urban genre, especially that of the Eastern Cape where he spent most of his life. Read more.