For a biography on Geesje (Gesina) and Niesje Kwak, two sisters from Amsterdam who came to Pretoria in 1895, I am looking for knowledge about their homes and workplace. Both sisters entered Pretoria in August 1895, either as servants or as saleswomen in a shop. They became known because their photograph by J.C. Munro was exhibited at the Jubilee Exhibition in Grahamstown in 1898.
Geesje (*1877) died of tuberculosis in the Volkshospitaal in Pretoria on November 30, 1899. Niesje (*1879) married Cornelis Jacobus Swierstra on May 8, 1901. Swierstra (1874-1952) was curator at the State Museum and later became vice director and director of the museum. Niesje Swierstra-Kwak died on July 30, 1911, also of tuberculosis. She left a daughter (Joukje Gesina *1901) and a son (Cornelis Jacobus *1908).
Please email to Jenny Reynaerts, senior curator paintings Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: j.reynaerts@rijksmuseum.nl
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