Ezrom Legae (1938–1999, Johannesburg, South Africa) was a foundational figure in South African art, whose teaching, sculptural, and draughting practice bridged formal innovation with deep social critique. He trained at the Polly Street Art Centre and the Jubilee Art Centre under the guidance of Cecil Skotnes and Sydney Kumalo, eventually becoming co-director of Jubilee, where he mentored a generation of South African artists.

Legae’s work spans painting, drawing, and sculpture, often depicting human and animal forms in states of metamorphosis to explore themes of memory, myth, and the politics of apartheid. His graphic, conté, and bronze works combine formal precision with emotional intensity, interrogating oppression, identity, and social justice.

His solo exhibitions include his first at the Egon Guenther Gallery, Johannesburg (1966), followed by successive shows in Durban and Johannesburg. Legae’s work has been featured in significant group exhibitions, including Re/discovery and Memory at the Norval Foundation, Cape Town, as well as international exhibitions across Europe and North America, reflecting his global relevance and critical engagement with modernist and African figurative traditions.

Among his recognitions, Legae won the Oppenheimer Sculpture Prize (1969) and received an Honourable Mention for Drawing at the Valparaíso Biennale (1979). His work is represented in major collections in South Africa, including the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Constitutional Court Art Collection, the Iziko South African National Gallery, and other prominent private collections.

Legae’s visual language is direct, charged, and literate. Figures and beasts appear in states of transformation, bridging African cultural heritage and modernist form. Through his work and teaching, Legae shaped generations of South African artists and established a lasting and critical presence in the country’s art history.