Art and Aspirations

The discovery of diamonds and gold in South Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century created unique opportunities for a handful of men to accumulate enormous wealth. At the end of the century they were among the richest and most powerful individuals in the world. Most of them settled in Britain and adopted would-be aristocratic lifestyles, soon becoming known as the 'South African millionaires' or 'Randlords'. Craving social acceptance and recognition, they constructed upper-class identities to transcend their modest backgrounds, and systematically acquired and displayed properties and possessions that symbolised wealth and power in Europe. It is these individuals and the artworks they assembled that are the subject of this book, which focuses on the activities of Sir Joseph Robinson, Sir Lionel and Lady Phillips, Sir Max Michaelis, Alfred and Sir Otto Beit, and Sir Julius Wernher. Accompanying the text are more than 170 illustrations, which include colour reproductions of many of the artworks discussed as well as photographs of the Randlords and their houses in South Africa and Britain.