South African National Gallery, Cape Town

Begun as a small collection of 45 paintings in 1871, the South African National Gallery originally showcased work by early 20th-century British artists. Beginning in the 1980s, however, the increasing emergence of impressive and significant art from South African artists caused the museum to begin to shift its acquisition policies. This lead in 1990 to a complete redefinition of the institution's purpose, which now celebrates vital examples of artistic expression from all over the African continent, with a particular focus on the Southern regions. Featuring such genres as painting, photography, textiles, sculpture, and beadwork, the National Gallery represents the pinnacle of indigenous artistic achievement.

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