Like many artists who challenged conventional ideas of beauty, Stern’s early work caused much controversy.

One critic wrote a review titled “The art of Miss Irma Stern, ugliness as a cult.”

She persevered and became one of South Africa’s most important artists. Her work has recently sold for millions.

Stern (born 1894 - died August 23, 1966) traveled extensively throughout her lifetime both in Europe and Africa. For months at a time she visited exotic places in Africa such as the Congo, Zanzibar, and Dakar, Senegal.

The South African art blog Panga Management (PM) uses the following words to describe why Irma Stern was awesome: "Irma was… (PM is embracing diplomacy but only for this post) “a large women” her physical volume didn’t however, stop her from galloping around the Congo in the 1930′s , dressed in the most fashionable of hats with her porky-melon feet squashed into the most beautiful shoes money could buy. Who can deny that combination of ballsy and stylish!"