Jan Christiaan Smuts - Cape Town, South Africa
S 33° 55.501 E 018° 25.206
34H E 261512 N 6243159
Smuts was a prominent citizen and leader in South Africa; this statue honors him.
Waymark Code: WMJ5YH
Location: Western Cape, South Africa
Date Posted: 09/29/2013
Views: 3
About Jan Christiann Smuts:
Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS
Born May 24, 1870
Died September 11, 1950
Smuts was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth military leader, philosopher and statesman. He held various cabinet posts, he also served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa twice ( first from 1919 to 1924 and later 1939 to1948). Smuts served in World War I, leading South Africa armies against Germany and capturing German South-West Africa and commanded the British Armey in East Africa. He was one of 5 members of the British War Cabinet from 1917-1919. He served asa British field marshal in World War II, and served in the Imperial War Cabinet under Winston Churchill. He was the only person to sign each of the peace treaties ending the First and Second World Wars. He led commandos in the Second Boer War for the Transvaal.
About the statue:
There are actually 2 statues of Jan Smuts in Cape Town: this one which is the statue preferred by most of the public, was unveiled on January 26, 1974, and is located at the historic Slave Lodge on Adderly Street. This statue is often referred to at the "new" Smuts statue. It depicts Jan Smuts in a reclining pose and was created by Ivan Mitford-Barberton (1973).
The original Smuts statue is a more stylized rendition of Smuts, and was created by Sydney Harpley. It is located just off Government Avenue in front of the National Art Gallery (in the Cape Town Gardens), not a half mile from this "new" statue. The stylized statue depicts a rounded, bulbous humanoid form that is not readily recognizable as any particular person, but the sculptor indicates it is Smuts.
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