It seems not much is known about Lionel Abrams (1931-1997), the Joburg teacher and artist, or at least not to the general public. And that’s not surprising. He was a quiet man, with no taste for glamour, who liked to quote the adapted Frank Zappa line (or it could have been Elvis Costello or Miles Davis, it seems no one really knows): “Talking about art is like dancing about architecture.”

Abrams found the art world distasteful and was deeply doubtful about exhibiting. “What for?” he asked in response to familial prodding. “Show biz,” he’d say. According to his nephew, Richard Penn, he got a friend, whom he imagined understood the art business, to compile a list of fashionable titles for his paintings. It was the 1950s, one was On...