
Irma Stern's 1930 portrait Cape Girl with Fruit headlines SA art auctionAn Irma Stern painting from 1930 leads Strauss & Co's diverse catalogue of modern and contemporary art at its May sale in Johannesburg
by Garrin Lambley
16-05-2024 08:13
in Art and Artists
Irma Stern's 1930 portrait Cape Girl with Fruit headlines SA art auction. Image: Irma Stern museum
For generations of progressive South African collectors, the names Dumile Feni, Maggie Laubser, Esther Mahlangu, George Pemba, J.H. Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, Lucas Sithole, Irma Stern, Anton van Wouw and Edoardo Villa have represented a rock-solid canon.
--
All these collectable modernist artists, many now receiving overdue international recognition, are represented in the catalogues for Strauss & Co's two-part Day and Evening auction of modern and contemporary art in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 28 May 2024.
Leading the 85-lot catalogue for the premier Evening Sale, which commences at 19:00, is Irma Stern's paradisiacal 1930 portrait of a seated young woman, Cape Girl with Fruit (estimate on request).
Made during a period of frequent travel across Southern Africa and regular exhibiting in Europe, this important, large-scale work records the early beginnings of Stern's celebrated and sensual mature style.
--
Paradise also looms large as theme in Alexis Preller's sun-drenched beach scene, Fisherman Mending Nets, Beau Vallon (estimate R3-4 million / $162 780 - 217 040), from his important visit to the Seychelles in 1949.
Preller, who is currently the subject of a career retrospective at Norval Foundation in Cape Town, has two works in the evening session.
Irma Stern has five paintings on auction Stern has five, including Still Life with Amaryllis (estimate R5 7 million / $271 455 $380 040), which was painted during a pause in her epic run representing South Africa at four editions of the Venice Biennale (in 1950, 52, 54 and 58).
--
More than a decade ago, The New York Times wrote that South African avant-garde painting of the 20th century had not loomed large in the international public imagination, which was perhaps true of affairs at the turn of this century but definitely does not apply today, says Dr Alastair Meredith, Head of Department of Fine Art, Strauss & Co.
South African modernists have in the last few years received growing recognition in international exhibitions and publications. The 2024 Venice Biennale, which features nearly a dozen of the country's best modernists, including George Pemba, Gerard Sekoto and Irma Stern, marks a further step in the international rehabilitation of our historical artists.
The Evening Sale offers a representative survey of South African art, from its early beginnings with painters like Frans Oerder and Pieter Wenning, through the emergence of the black modernist canon with figures like Pemba and Sekoto, up to the vibrant present day.
There are two high-value William Kentridge drawings: Preparing the Flute (estimate on request), related to his celebrated 2005 production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, and a WW1 battle scene (estimate on request) from his 2002 stop-animation film Zeno Writing.
As always, painting features strongly in both the online Day Sale and the live-virtual Evening Sale, with notable works by Walter Battiss, Peter Clarke, Robert Hodgins, Maggie Laubser, Nelson Makamo and John Meyer.
The estimate for Vladimir Tretchikoff's striking Chrysanthemums in a Vase (estimate R1.2 - R1.6 million / $65 090 - $86 785) reflects his evergreen status at auction.
George Pemba and Gerard Sekoto, who are currently enjoying premier billing at the Venice Biennale, have three and five works apiece in the Evening Sale.
Pemba's 1989 portrait, Author and Artist (estimate R200 000 - R300 000 / $10 865 - $16 300), depicts author Alan Paton.
Sekoto's works are dated 1960 to 1975, and include Mother and Child (estimate R400 000 - R600 000 / $21 730 - $32 595) from 1971.
Sculpture is not overlooked.
The evening session includes an important Nisini foundry casting of Anton van Wouw's bronze Slegte Nuus (estimate R3 - R4 million / $162 780 - $217 040).
Contemporary sculptor Dylan Lewis has three works in the Evening Sale.
The online-only Day Sale is especially strong on sculpture and includes bronzes by Deborah Bell, Andries Botha, Guy du Toit and Herman van Nazareth.
Goat Girls (estimate R150 000 - R200 000 / $8 150 - $10 865) is a collaborative work by Diane Victor and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren from their Scapegoat Series.
The catalogue also includes painted wood pieces by Norman Catherine and an early work by Gerhard Marx.
EXHIBITION VIEWING TIMES Weekdays from 09:00 to 16:00
Weekend (25/26 May) from 09:00 to 16:00
Venue: Strauss & Co, 89 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg
Art Day Sale: E-CATALOGUE
Evening Sale: E-CATALOGUE
Looking to buy a good quality pre-owned vehicle, CLICK HERE!
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
31/08/2025
Legrand | AV, a global specialist and industry leader in audiovisual solutions, returns to CEDIA Expo 2025, taking place Sept. 4-6 in Denver, with a powerful li...
31/08/2025
Global media technology company Backlight will unveil new capabilities in its Iconik, Wildmoka, and Zype product lines at IBC2025 (booth #1.D09), September 12 1...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...