The future of the Brett Kebble Art Awards is in the balance after his death in Johannesburg on Tuesday night.
Kathryn Smith, co-curator of the third exhibition which was due to open at the Cape Town Convention Centre in February, said the family would have to decide whether to continue its patronage.
"I'm absolutely devastated and I can't really say very much at this stage, because it will be up to the family to decide. But I think it would be a wonderful testimony to Brett for the art awards to continue."
David Barritt, spokesperson for the family, said the art awards had been based in Cape Town at Kebble's insistence.
Although most of Kebble's working life was based in Johannesburg, he lived in Bishopscourt with his wife and four children aged between three and 13, and commuted to Gauteng every week.
Kebble graduated from the University of Cape Town and did his articles with the Cape Town law firm Mallinicks.
Smith, Standard Bank Young Artist 2004 and co-curator of the Kebble awards with Clive van den Berg, said preparations for the third exhibition were well under way. The exhibition was done on a scale that made it the biggest art event in South Africa - achieved in just two years.
Said Smith: "He went beyond supporting the exhibition as such - he also bought a lot of the work. Last year he supported solo exhibitions for both joint-winners of the award, Tanya Poole and Philip Rhikotso. It wasn't just 'here's an award, here's a cheque', it was about building a sustainable career."