Ndebele woman painting a wall, South Africa
Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1935-88
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives,
Constance Stuart Larrabee Photographs, EEPA 1998-060593,
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Ndebele mural designs communicate information about the family's identity, such as ethnic affiliation and sense of place. This is particularly significant given the Ndebele were dispersed throughout the Transvaal in the 19th century following their defeat by the Boers.
Today's complex Ndebele murals are a relatively recent phenomenon. Ndebele women began creating this genre in the 1940s with the proliferation of commercial acrylic paints and rectangular houses that provided an ideal canvas for women's artistic creativity