Cape Dutch Oil Painting of Vergelegen Wine Estate South Africa by Ron Chambler

This oil on board shows Vergelegen, one of the most celebrated historic wine estates of South Africa's Western Cape, near Somerset West. The gabled Cape Dutch manor house glows a warm buttery yellow, its white scrolled gable, red doors and shuttered windows set behind a green lawn. Around it stand the estate's famous old camphor trees, their twisting trunks and airy canopies painted in soft greens and golds. Behind rise the dramatic peaks of the Hottentots Holland Mountains, rendered in misty blues, lilacs and pale apricot.

Height: 57cm (22.4in)
Width: 40cm (15.7in)
Measured including the frame

Vergelegen means "far away place", a reminder of how remote the estate once was from Cape Town. It was established at the start of the eighteenth century by the Cape governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel, and it was famously visited by the British Royal Family on their tour of South Africa in 1947. The camphor trees in this painting are among the oldest living trees in the country.

The painting is signed Ron Chambler to the lower right, and inscribed on the reverse "Vergelegen, Cape" with the artist's signature. A typed history of the estate is attached to the back, dated August 2013. The paint is applied with lovely texture, particularly in the mountains and foliage, where layered strokes catch the light. It measures 57 x 40 cm including its pale wooden frame with cream inner slip, and it is ready to hang.

The gentle palette of yellow, blue and green makes this an easy painting to live with. It would sit beautifully in a sunny sitting room, a study or a dining room, perhaps alongside a wine rack or a collection of travel books. Pair it with rattan, natural linen and terracotta pots for a relaxed Cape style, or hang it among other landscapes on a gallery wall. It would also make a meaningful gift for anyone with South African roots, a love of the Cape Winelands, or happy memories of a visit to Vergelegen itself.

A charming and characterful portrait of one of the Cape's most beautiful historic houses.