John Koenakeefe Mohl
‘Mohl’ is a simplification for the sake of Europeans of the Tswana surname Motlhakangna.1 As a child, Mohl used to draw with ‘pepa’ on rocks and animal hides. He also modelled objects of clay. His father carved pestles and chairs. At school in Dinokana and later Mafikeng, Koenakeefe (little crocodile) was often reprimanded and punished because of his insatiable urge to draw during classes. Mohl’s father was convinced that he was wasting his time at school and withdrew him to herd the goats. However, the Reverend Hale of the London Mission Society, who noticed the young boy’s talent, convinced his father to allow him to spend time drawing and to attend Tigerskloof Training School. There he attained a teacher’s diploma and subsequently left for Namibia to work on the docks at Lüderitz in order to study art with a French woman artist, Mary du Pont. She gave him a sound foundation in preparing canvases and applying art materials. Hale and other friends of the London Mission Society and Lutheran Church later sent him to continue his art studies at the Academy in Düsseldorf. He returned to Cape Town and in 1936 painted Kgosi Tshekedi Khama’s portrait, which was shown on the Empire Exhibition. In 1943 he won an Academy award for painting. Read More…
