Emma Bedford's new direction

November 2, 2009   [ Archived ]

Staff Reporter - Business Day

STRAUSS & Co has announced the appointment of Emma Bedford as paintings specialist, starting from November 1.

Emma Bedford

Although Bedford will be based in the Cape Town office, she will liaise regularly between Johannesburg and Cape Town. According to Stephan Welz, MD of Strauss & Co, it is not often that someone of Bedford’s calibre becomes available.

 Highly regarded both locally and internationally, Bedford played an unequalled role as a curator at the Iziko South African National Gallery and as director of Goodman Gallery Cape. She is an acknowledged expert in modern and contemporary art, with particular reference to South African art, has extensive experience in curating exhibitions and collections management, has written and edited many publications, and is a popular public speaker.

Bedford says of her new appointment: “I’ve known and respected Stephan Welz and his colleagues for many years. They are the acknowledged experts in the field of art and antiques. “I admire the fact that Strauss & Co and the individuals within it are guided by strong ethical principles and a sense of responsibility to both the sellers and buyers. In our field, integrity counts as much as expertise in building and maintaining client confidence.”

During her 25 years at the Iziko gallery, Bedford became senior curator and head of art collections, where she managed a range of projects and initiatives including exhibitions such as the Marlene Dumas: Intimate Relations (2007–2008) and William Kentridge (2002), the artist’s first large-scale survey exhibition to be mounted in SA.

As director of Goodman Gallery Cape, which she was head-hunted to start in 2007, Bedford curated many of the thematic and group shows and worked closely with artists such as William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, Deborah Bell and Mikhael Subotzky in preparing their solo exhibitions. She has developed close relations with most of SA’s top artists and several international artists, often assisting in initiating and developing projects.
Bedford has conducted research and is published widely in books, journals, magazines and online publications. She is often invited to present papers at international conferences such as the Congress of the International Association of Art Critics held in Dakar, Senegal, in July 2003 and was the only South African curator invited to attend the International Curatorial Workshop at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in March 2005.

“This is a new direction for me,” says Bedford, “and one that I’m going to enjoy immensely. It’s no secret that Strauss & Co has become the leading auction house, having succeeded in achieving a turnover of more than R100m in its first year of business. It’s a great honour for me to be joining this winning team.”

Published by Business Day