Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1546381
C O U R T E S Y E L L E R M A N H O U S E outh African art is having a moment, with artists showing at Art Basel Miami Beach, winning the world's top photography prizes, and commanding waitlists at prestigious galleries. But the best places to encounter the country's most interesting pieces might not be museums or fairs: Several luxe hotels have built local art into the guest experience, and three have woven it into the fabric of a stay. At the entrance to the private gallery at Ellerman House, the Relais & Châteaux hotel perched above Cape Town's Bantry Bay, a granite panel etched with 9,377 hash marks is on display. It's called Nelson Mandela Prison Hacks, by Willem Boshoff—the marks represent each day Mandela spent in jail. Look closely: The polished stone reflects the view to Robben Island itself. It's a striking start to an impressive personal collection: Ellerman House owner Paul Harris has spent decades gathering more than a thousand South African works from the mid–19th century to the present. Wander through (with a glass of local bubbles, of course) and you'll pass everything from the early painted views of the Cape to contemporary works by William Kentridge, Blessing Ngobeni, and Dylan Lewis. It's less a museum tour than a walk through Harris's passions, and a fitting introduction to how S ART & SOUL At three singular South African properties, world-class art is part of the room service. BY COLLEEN CURTIS The five-bedroom Villa One at Cape Town's Ellerman House features a work by the artist David Bromley. 151 151