Gladys Mgudlandlu (1917 -1979) was born in the Eastern Cape town of Peddie, the historical territory of the Mfengu clan. Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by her grandmother who passed on her skill at mural art, a customary practice amongst the creative women of the area who excelled in the domestic arts including beadwork. Her early exposure to the cultural and visual heritage of her region, undoubtedly informed her desire to paint.

Gladys was largely self-taught, however she may well have had some formal training during her studies at Lovedale College in Alice where she qualified as a lower– primary teacher in 1941. Later in life when she was working as a teacher in Cape Town she ...