The mystery of the missing painting used for the cover of Mike Walker’s book, Muizenberg – a forgotten story has been solved.
In December, the Echo reported that Muizenberg Heritage, formerly Muizenberg Historical Conservation Society, was looking for it as it had gone missing (“Help find missing painting,” Echo, December 13, 2024).
Muizenberg Heritage chairman Roger Stewart said the society was under the impression that it had owned the painting as Mr Walker had acknowledged the society for the use of the painting’s image in the book.
However, he said, since then, the society could not find any proof that it had ever owned the painting.
In addition, he said, the society was under the impression that the artist was G Turner but recently found out that the artist was, in fact, C E Turner and not G Turner.
Mr Stewart said a Google search indicated that Charles Edward Turner (1893-1965), was an artist for The Illustrated London News and the Daily Sketch, a UK national tabloid newspaper (1909 – 1971), which eventually merged with the Daily Mirror.
Mr Turner exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and specialised in landscape and marine views. Having served in the Royal Air Force in the First World War, he reached the rank of Captain and worked as a war artist during World War II.
Mr Stewart said it was suspected that he had visited Cape Town around 1927 and must have been captivated by surfing at Muizenberg – especially by the women surfers.
He produced at least two iconic paintings of surfing The Berg. One was used by the Union Castle Line. Its passenger ships offered weekly delivery of mail to Southampton and Cape Town.
The other, a painting of a surfer and the nearby wooden pavilion, appeared in the October 12, 1927 edition of the Daily Sketch.
Both paintings, he said, were also used for a series of South African jigsaw puzzles circa 1930.
