Naomi Jacobson, with husband Larry, working on a larger-than-life statue of Steve Biko
Naomi initially worked in clay but was introduced to cement fondu, a metal cement from France, by the famed British sculptor Frank McWilliam. He had been commissioned to sculpt the head of the Herero Chief Hosea Kutako, which was the very first bust to be exhibited at the UN. McWilliam taught her a great deal, and she went on to sculpt the heads of all the indigenous tribes, as well as of Chief Hosea Kutako, and of his successor Clemens Kapuuo (who was later assassinated). She was further commissioned to sculpt three springbuck, which were placed in Kaiser Street, the main street in Windhoek.
Naomi began receiving commissions to do other sculptures, not only heads, but of animals, birds, dolphins, insects and abstract works. These were not always in cement fondu, but also in bronze (which had to be cast at a foundry in Pretoria) and in metal. Those that were not directly commissioned found a ready market in South Africa, the UK, the US and Europe. Throughout, she was supported and assisted by her husband.
After she and Larry moved to Johannesburg in 1973, Naomi became well established, although she seldom exhibited in or worked through a gallery. She wrote, “Portraiture is the orphan of the art world, but make no mistake, it is so exciting and exhilarating. I did my work because I loved the interaction with the subjects, not because of the money. I was honoured to do the people I felt were of historical importance, and money couldn’t buy that.”
And so started the introduction into the private lives of her subjects, whom Naomi got to know so well during the sittings. Where she was commissioned to do the heads of deceased persons, she would make an intimate study of their lives, assisted by many photographs. Of the countless commissions she received, among the most well known are King Shaka Zulu, which stands at Ulundi, Steve Biko, which stands in front of the Town Hall in East London and was unveiled by Nelson Mandela, King Sobhuza of Swaziland, Sir Seretse Khama of Botswana, Philip Tobias, Raymond Dart, Lady Baden-Powell, Alan Paton, Leonard Schach and all the Randlords. She further portrayed certain famous Afrikaans personalities, including Chief Justice Henry Fagan and C.J. Langenhoven, which are housed in the State Theatre in Pretoria. Naomi’s paternal aunt, Sarah Goldblatt, had been Langenhoven’s secretary and, after his death, acted as his literary executrix.
Of course, her most famous head is that of Nelson Mandela. This sculpture is the only one for which Mandela actually sat, over a period of weeks, and he was comfortable enough with Naomi to sometimes go to sleep during the sittings. At the same time, Naomi was commissioned to sculpt the heads of Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu. The latter and his wife, Albertina, became very good friends.
In 1998, Naomi was commissioned to sculpt two figures for the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton. The larger of the two, named the ‘Contessa’, is four times larger than life-size. Naomi commented that it expressed her aspirations of what she would like a woman to be: “larger than life, ambitious, strong yet elegant, and reaching for the stars”.
The second figure, ‘Gabriella’, is a conventional piece depicting the beauty of the female form. It was named after the mother of the two craftsmen/artists at the Vignali foundry, who died while the work was being completed. Naomi described these two sculptures as being “the culmination of my life’s work”.
But she was far from stopping. She carried on for close on eighteen years, sculpting heads on commission and abstract pieces. She was working on a “blue boy” – also larger than life-size – when her strength started failing her towards the end of 2015.
One of the commissions which Naomi most enjoyed was of Moses holding up a scroll containing the Ten Commandments. The bust was commissioned by the SA Jewish Board of Deputies in 2003 to mark its centenary. It stands today in the Beyachad Jewish community centre in Johannesburg.
Naomi is survived by her daughter Janine and son David, a well-known sculptor in London, grandsons Stephen (a prominent Johannesburg artist) and Jason and two great-grandchildren. Her husband, Larry, died in 2014.
Karen Marshall is a long-serving Senior Council and former Acting Judge of the Supreme Court in Namibia, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg.
Naomi Jacobson next to her ‘Moses’ bust, 2014
