La Johannesburg Art Gallery

It was founded by Florence Phillips, the wife of a mining magnate, who persuaded her husband and several South African businessmen to finance the project for a museum in Johannesburg. In 1909, art dealer Hugh Lane persuaded her to dedicate the museum to contemporary art and not, as had been imagined for a time, to industrial art. The collection was assembled in 1911 and installed in 1915. The permanent collection was subsequently expanded through donations, mainly of Western art. In 1983, works of art by the peoples of Southern Africa were added to the collection1. Since 1994, the institution's acquisition policy has focused on works by South African artists, both heritage and contemporary1. According to the South African Visual Arts Network, the JAG is the most visited art gallery in Africa2.