La Motte’s Pierneef Collection Finds a New Home in an Intimate Art and Wine Experience

At La Motte, the legacy of South African artist Jacob Hendrik Pierneef has long been intertwined with the estate. Now, from October 2026, visitors will have the opportunity to explore this connection through the new Pierneef Wine & Art Experience, an intimate hour-long journey through art, wine, and South African heritage.

Pierneef’s relationship with La Motte dates back to 2002, when the estate introduced its premium Pierneef Collection of wines. The connection, however, extends far beyond the name on a bottle. Both La Motte and Pierneef share a deep appreciation for the South African landscape, nature, and architectural heritage.

The story behind the wine labels is particularly personal. Their design draws on a posthumous limited edition of 128 linocut prints by Pierneef, which had been part of La Motte owner Hanneli Rupert’s family collection since the 1960s. When the wine collection was being developed, La Motte approached Pierneef’s only child, Marita Bailey, for permission to use her father’s name and reproduce the prints on the labels. 

The collaboration marked the beginning of a friendship between Bailey and La Motte.

That relationship would eventually lead to the return of an important part of Pierneef’s artistic legacy to South Africa.

In 2009, Bailey expressed her wish to bring her private collection of Pierneef works back from the UK, with the hope that they could be preserved and made accessible to the public. La Motte subsequently acquired 42 original works spanning several decades of the artist’s career. The collection includes everything from preliminary sketches and studies to finished oil paintings, dating from 1908 to 1955, alongside personal memorabilia.

For more than a decade, these works were displayed at the La Motte Museum. Following the introduction of La Motte Reimagined and its interactive art experience in the La Motte Ateljee, the Pierneef collection has moved into the estate’s historic Manor House, dating to around 1758.

This is where the new experience unfolds.

Visitors can spend an hour exploring Pierneef’s work and personal history before moving into a tasting of the estate’s Pierneef Collection wines. Two wines are paired with four delicate canapés, bringing together the visual and culinary arts in a setting steeped in history.

So instead of simply viewing the works, the experience offers a closer look at an artist whose distinctive interpretation of the South African landscape helped shape the country’s visual identity. The surrounding setting adds another layer to the experience, connecting Pierneef’s enduring interest in nature and architecture with La Motte’s own heritage.

For anyone interested in South African art, wine and heritage, La Motte offers a considered way to encounter Pierneef’s work – not just as a collection of paintings, but as part of a much longer story of heritage, preservation, and cultural identity.

The Pierneef Wine & Art Experience begins on 7 October 2026 and takes place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10am to 11am, costing R250 per person.