Moses Tladi (1903-1959) was the first black artist to exhibit formally in South Africa and to achieve wide acclaim. He was born in rural Sekhukhuneland, east of Pretoria. In the mid-1920s he started working in Johannesburg as a gardener to Herbert Read. Read introduced Tladi to the collector and philanthropist Howard Pim and together they promoted Tladi at public exhibitions from 1929 onwards.

Angela Read Lloyd, Herbert Read's granddaughter, grew up at Lokshoek, Herbert Read's house, surrounded by Moses Tladi's paintings.