'Minga vonani kuxouga ka xigaza,' Philemon Hlungwani

The task we try to set ourselves at A World Different is to find hotels and lodges around the world that do good things. Sometimes it is easy to see who those good things or deeds benefit, such as the luxurious Casa Gangotena’s work with communities in its hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Or the silversmith project supported by Ibo Island Lodge in Mozambique. Or the efforts of Cortijada Los Gázquez to resuscitate a dying Spanish village’s way of life.

'Alter Ego 1,' Andrew Verster

In the case of Ellerman House, in Cape Town, the good works are less obvious. They are actually the art works hanging on the hotel walls. The luxury boutique hotel now has 500 pieces by South African masters and 80 by contemporary artists. The specially built Ellerman Contemporary gallery opened in December 2009. The gallery, hidden away below the front of the hotel, is fronted by the striking Hier sculpture, a 3-meter head made of slate by Angus Taylor. AWD met with Ellerman House GM Nick Dreyer and talked about how the luxury boutique hotel came to become a prominent supporter of local artists and built its Ellerman Contemporary gallery as a showcase.

A World Different: Ellerman House is famous for its paintings by South African masters, such as Pierneef and Irma Stern. That collection was put together by the hotel’s owner, financier Paul Harris. But these new art works are taking Ellerman House in a new direction.

Dreyer: With the masters we gained traction as art collectors. But we had no contemporary works, and we wanted to collect them. We had this hollow space at the bottom of the property, and it suddenly became obvious that’s where the gallery should go.

Inside Elllerman Contemporary

AWD: What did you want to achieve with the gallery?

Dreyer: We wanted to give artists access to the market and we wanted to give our customers a chance to see some great South African art.

AWD: Do you sell the paintings?

Dreyer: No. We make the introduction between the guest and the art, and we might suggest galleries where they can buy the artists, such as the Goodman Gallery or Michael Stevenson. But that’s all. We collect art we love, and there is an integrity to collecting the art but not selling it.

Mary Sibande's 'They Don't Make Them Like They Used To'

AWD: Who buys the art for Ellerman Contemporary?

Dreyer: It is a collaborative affair. Myself, my colleague Mitch Terry, Paul Harris. We get advice from Mark Read, the owner of Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg. We go to the Johannesburg Art Fair. We find out about an artist and investigate.

AWD: Are there any success stories?

Dreyer: I don’t think Ellerman can claim the success of any of these artists. As I said, we merely introduce clients to them.

AWD: Are there set tours of the gallery or do clients simply wander down?

Dreyer: It’s a small intimate hotel, so one of the managers goes with guests. Often they go down by themselves.

AWD: The Independent of London carried a story on the ‘big six’ hotels in the world that have art collections. Besides one in Melbourne, which is named after the artist whose works it carries, Ellerman was the only one of the six with the idea of promoting living artists.

Inside the Gallery

Dreyer: We have had very important art collectors stay at the hotel and they have purchased hundreds of thousands of rands worth of local art as a result.

AWD: How do you arrange the art in the gallery?

Dreyer: As soon as work comes in I put it up and take other things down. It’s not a huge gallery, and because some of the works are very large, we can only put up maybe two dozen artworks at a time. It is a bit like a store, and sometimes there are even things on the floor propped up against a wall.

AWD: The artist Angus Taylor, who did the striking head outside the gallery entrance, is now a consultant to the hotel on a building project. So your relationships with the artists go even further?

Dreyer: Angus spent three months on the property putting up the head. He made a grid of steel and then layered the rocks inside. We liked the way he worked, always with organic materials, so we asked him to be a consultant on the new villa we are adding to the property.

Who They Are

Possibly the most astonishing thing about Ellerman House – and there is plenty here to be amazed by – is that so few people know about it.  Now almost 20 years old, it has succeeded by being as under-the-radar as it has been reverentially consistent in luxury. The people who need to know about it, do.

Room No. 7

This former residence (or, to be exact, mansion) high above exclusive Bantry Bay, is a study in refinement and peacefulness. Even though the gracious building is in the heart of Cape Town, its 9 rooms, two suites, and 5-bedroom villa, each with unsurpassed views across the Atlantic, offer the perfect amount of isolation.

Room No. 10

Below the spacious yet cozy reception rooms and large porches spreads a manicured garden and pool. The rooms throughout the property are decorated with magnificent works by South African masters, including Irma Stern and Pierneef.

At the Villa

The rooms have recently been buffed up – new fabrics, bedding, and wallpapers – although subtly enough that repeat clients (of which there are many, despite the prices) probably won’t notice. While the main residence has a more traditional ambiance, the more modern villa’s rooms – with names like Aqua and Lilac – are lushly simple. The kitchen has a glass wall that opens electronically for you to ask the chefs any questions, and across from it is a ‘pantry’ full of goodies for guests to raid at all hours and which has become infamously addictive.

What They Are Doing

Ellerman House owner Paul Harris, a well-known Johannesburg financier, was the main mover behind the creation of Penreach, which works with schools in rural communities in the north of the country. Established in 1994, Penreach now touches the lives of more than 2,000 teachers a year, working in over 900 schools, and directly benefiting more than 350,000 learners . At least ninety percent of the teachers are women.

A Painting by Irma Stern at Ellerman

Penreach has also gone beyond schools, to help fund beneficial projects such as the provision of psycho-social support to teachers, orphans and vulnerable children; the improvement of state-run feeding schemes; the establishment of vegetable gardens; the development of sport and sports facilities; environmental education, with a view to turning schools into profit centers through waste management; the provision of IT training; youth leadership development camps; and administration training. So successful has it been that Penreach is aiming to reach other parts of the country in the future.

The Contemporary Gallery

Harris, who is also a patron of the arts, has one of the finest ‘galleries’ in the country decorating the walls and rooms of Ellerman House – you can find not only every South African master here but possibly also their finest work. In 2009 he opened a magnificent specially built gallery on the property to foster contemporary artists (see News). The gallery now has enough artworks to rotate the exhibition four times annually, and the exhibition there of artists has led clients to buy their works.

The Gallery Different

Long known for its collection of art, much of it by local masters, the exemplary small hotel Ellerman House in Cape Town has recently opened a gallery to showcase young and upcoming South African artists.

“Our guests (the majority of whom are international) go down to the gallery and take in the art, see something that they like, and take the name home with them and spread the word,” the gallery says.

The Taylor Sculpture Above Bantry Bay

And spread the word they will, if the striking giant sculpture of a man’s head by Angus Taylor at the entrance is anything to go by.

The art pieces that have been carefully selected and collected for Ellerman Contemporary come from various art galleries throughout the country and cover various styles and disciplines, which gives any person visiting the gallery a fairly good understanding of the contemporary art scene in South Africa. The gallery, which was put together over a year, was in a location impossible to get heavy machinery to. All excavations had to be done by hand. Not only did this allow them to construct an entire gallery while guests were sipping cocktails only a few yards away, completely unawares, but it also gave them a green gallery.

Some of the artists that are featured include William Kentridge, Angus Taylor, Collin Richards, Anthony Scullion, John Walters, Kevin Brand and Phillimon Hlungwane.