Treasured Pierneef family paintings debut at auction

Treasured Pierneef family paintings debut at auctionJacob Hendrik Pierneef's exciting collection of paintings will see the market for the first time at Bonhams' Modern & amp; Contemporary African Art sale

by Shingai Mhlanga

14-10-2022 09:11

in Art and Artists

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (South African, 1886-1957), The Wolkberg. Estimate: £200,000-300,000 (left) Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966), Zululand. Estimate: £600,000-800,000 (right)

London An exciting collection of paintings by Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (South African, 1886-1957), offered directly from the artist's family, will see the market for the first time at Bonhams' Modern & Contemporary African Art sale. The landscape, culture and history of South Africa has remained a rich source of inspiration to its artists, none more so than Pierneef, who will take centre stage at Bonhams' Modern & Contemporary African Art sale in New Bond Street, London, on Wednesday 19 October. The 102-lot sale will showcase the talent that has emerged from continent of Africa over the last century. Further contributing to a strong selection of South African art are works by Irma Stern, Vladimir Griegorovich Tretchikoff, Gerard Sekoto and Dylan Lewis.

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Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (South African, 1886-1957) Landscape (framed) Estimates £50 000 80 000 Pierneef is undoubtedly South Africa's foremost landscape painter. We are delighted to be offering such a large collection that demonstrates the originality and innovation of his approach, enlivening a traditional genre with modernist techniques. It adds to a strong group of work from South African artists in general.

Giles Peppiatt, Bonhams Group Head, Fine Art, U.K, commented, In his stylised landscapes, Pierneef mythologises the terrain by stitching together and embellishing small sketches he made on his extensive travels. In The Wolkberg, estimate £200 000-300 000, painted in 1944 after his reputation was established, Pierneef transforms a mountain range located in the Limpopo Province in the north of the country with his imaginative use of colour, building a national landscape tradition upon his own unique perspective.

Landscape, estimate £50 000-80 000, depicts a more sombre scene, a tree against a sky in muted shades. The tree is a willow, an enduring influence in his work, about which Pierneef remarked I know every bend in its trunk or its heavy branches. I could draw by heart every gnarl in its bark'.

Other Pierneef works in the sale include:

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Sunlight Through the Trees, estimate £40 000-60 000

Trees at Dusk, estimate £30 000-50 000

Veere, estimate £15 000-20 000

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Irma Stern in her studio with Zululand. Courtesy of the National Library of South Africa An important work in the oeuvre of Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966) leads the sale. Zululand, which appears in the background of an archival image of the artist in her studio, has an estimate of £600 000 800 000. The painting was produced at a transitional moment in her career, when Stern noted that Black communities in South Africa were beginning to abandon traditional cultural and social practice. The dynamic, bright and bold

Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966) Siesta (framed) 92 x 73cm Estimates £100 000 150 000 Zululand paintings mark a break from the more relaxed compositions of the 1920s. Zululand uses a landscape format to accommodate four figures, and notably lacks narrative or specific ethnographic detail.

Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966) Magnolias (framed) 85 x 85cm Estimates £400 000 600 000 The skill in still life painting that Stern developed is clear in Magnolias, which has an estimate of £400 000-600 000. The background is the same canary yellow as the walls of her studio, a space where she created many of her most famous works, while the Chinese stoneware vase recalls examples held in her collection.

Other works by Stern in the sale include:

Siesta, estimate £100 000-150 000

Still life of fish, estimate £50 000-80 000

Gerard Sekoto (South African, 1913-1993) Three African Children 79 x 99cm Estimates £100 000 150 000 Gerard Sekoto's (South African, 1913-1993) Three Children has an estimate of £100 000 150 000. Completed in 1967, this work shares the blue palette of his series of bust portraits, which were primarily of women. Sekoto uses his technique of arranging the scene around a point of warmth, in this case the intriguing red globe. The work bears excellent provenance, having been acquired by art collector and personal friend Paul Koston. It was completed soon after Sekoto's return from Senegal. Three Children may well have been a product of this highly influential visit. He had remained there after the International Festival of Negro Arts, ultimately holding an exhibition at the Th tre Daniel Sorano. During this period, he experimented with his signature blue palette while recording his encounters with the Senegalese people, bringing the paintings and sketches he made back to Paris.

Other South African highlights from the sale include:

Gerard Sekoto, Woman crossing the road, estimate £50 000-80 000 Walter Battiss, Lines in the desert, circa 1966, estimate £15 000-20 000 Dylan Lewis, Striding Tiger, estimate £60 000-80 000 Gerard Sekoto, The Penny Whistlers, estimate £50 000-70 000

ALSO READ: The Bonhams results are in - See how well the Irma Stern did at auction

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LINK:	https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/art-artists/treasured-pierneef...
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