Nita Spilhaus

Nita Spilhaus born Pauline Augusta Wilhelmina Spilhaus (5 February 1878 Lisbon - 12 September 1967 Rondebosch) was a Portuguese-born South African painter, working in oil, watercolour and pastel. She is best known for her landscapes, paintings and etchings of trees, her portrayals of the Cape mountains, and depictions of the Malay Quarter.

She was the daughter of Christian Ludwig Karl Spilhaus (27 June 1847 Lübeck - 13 September 1878 Lisbon) and Virginia Augusta Coelho (18 September 1855 - 5 February 1878). Her siblings were Virginia Henriette Wiesner (1874) and Karl Antonio Spilhaus (1876). In due course she befriended various artists such as Edward Roworth, Moses Kottler, Allerley Glossop, Pieter Wenning, Ruth Prowse, Hugo Naudé and Florence Zerffi, who nursed her back to health during the 1918 flu pandemic.

She joined the 'South African Society of Artists' soon after her arrival. The Cape Times acknowledged her talent as a graphic artist by publishing a modest booklet of 12 etchings portraying scenes in and around Cape Town.