Hands holding handmade feather brushes with beaded bracelets — Dr Esther Mahlangu's first brushstrokes

Early Life

1945

First Brushstrokes

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At the age of ten, Esther begins painting under the guidance of her mother and grandmother, learning the centuries-old Ndebele tradition of mural painting — executed by women using natural pigments and chicken-feather brushes to decorate the exteriors of homes.