Who Was Maria Stein-Lessing?

Maria Stein-Lessing (born Augusta Maria Lessing in 1905 in Schneidemühl, Germany; died 1961 in Johannesburg) was a German–South African art historian and collector.

Academic and personal journey: She studied art history in Berlin, Bonn, and Heidelberg, earning her PhD in 1935 with work on Leonardo da Vinci’s Battle of Anghiari.

Emigration to South Africa: After briefly studying in London, she emigrated there in 1936, fleeing persecution. In South Africa, she worked at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, taught art history at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), and eventually established one of Johannesburg’s first African art shops called l’Afrique in 1946.

Teaching legacy: Highly respected and remembered for her eccentric personality — chain-smoking, bringing her spaniel to lectures, and a flair for dramatics—she inspired generations of students, including figures like Esmé Berman and Eric Fernie.

What Is the Stein-Lessing Collection?

The collection refers to the African art objects Maria and her husband, Leopold Spiegel, amassed together — including masks, carvings, baskets, and rock art studies — which formed a distinctive and influential assemblage of African artifacts.

After Maria’s death, Spiegel preserved and later donated much of the collection to Museum Africa (Johannesburg). This led to the creation of the Spiegel/Stein-Lessing Wing for African Art and the launch of a commemorative exhibition titled l’Afrique in 2009.

The book L’Afrique: A Tribute to Maria Stein-Lessing and Leopold Spiegel, edited by Natalie Knight (with contributions from others), recounts their lives, their collection, and their impact on South African art history
All Bookstores.