Stern’s Spanish Lady turns 100

Famous artist’s model and patron, Pamela Amelia Frampton, has enjoyed a lifetime of tennis, dancing, speaking French, painting, playing piano, art galleries, lectures, shopping, eateries, and travel.

Frampton (nee Vorenberg), who lives in Killarney, Johannesburg, turned 100 last week. She was born on 4 November 1921 in Johannesburg to parents Harry William and Minnie Vorenberg, who lived in Houghton. She went to Barnato Park Primary School in Berea.

At the age of 13, she was enrolled at Roedean School in Brighton, England, as a boarder. She remained there until World War II broke out, when she returned to South Africa on the last mail ship that sailed out of Southampton, England. Passengers on the boat weren’t allowed to switch on lights or smoke on the deck at night in case they would be seen. The boat had to zigzag through the water to avoid being chased by U-boats.

She spent the war years back in Johannesburg, and after the war, when Hyman George Frampton was demobbed, he came to South Africa, and they were married in Cape Town in January 1946. They had an only child together – David Richard Frampton.

Frampton was a talented artist, and she studied art at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London.

In 1964, she was at a party in Cape Town where she met Irma Stern, the famous artist. Stern was inspired by Frampton’s dark complexion, and asked her to pose as a model for a painting the very next day. She insisted that she wear the exact outfit she had on. This painting, titled The Spanish Lady with a Mantilla is now part of the collection of the Irma Stern Trust, and is in the gallery in Cape Town.

Frampton is a culture vulture, and loves to follow what is happening around her. She belongs to many clubs, social groups, and societies, and can be found at most talks and lectures on a variety of topics throughout Johannesburg. She used to paint regularly. She reads newspapers and magazines from cover to cover, keeping abreast of the social news and current affairs. She loves to attend art galleries, and cultural events. She enjoys the theatre, and attempts to attend every production. She was very involved in commercial property. She loved to travel, and was fortunate to visit many countries around the world, many of them with SAPOA (the South African Property Owners Association). She lives life to the full!