Irmin Henkel was born in Germany in 1921. He was a self-taught artist whose oeuvre encompasses still life, landscape, and portraiture – including nudes. However, he was also a qualified orthopedic surgeon who practiced in Germany and continued in South Africa after settling in Pretoria in 1951. His artistic skills allowed him to become the leading choice for official government portraits from the 1950s to the 1970s. The artist died in 1977.