
Strauss & Co confirms its rock-solid reputation with a catalogue of blue-chip works by South African modernists for its May auction
3 May 2023
- Irma Stern’s Still Life with Dahlias and Pumpkin (R10 – 12 million/ $552 330 – 662 795) tops May auction catalogue
- Stern, Africa’s most prized painter at auction, represented by three works from her golden period
- Catalogue includes noteworthy still lifes by William Kentridge, Maggie Laubser and Alexis Preller
- Two museum-grade works by pioneer black modernists Dumile Feni and Gerard Sekoto

The cover lot for leading African auction house Strauss & Co’s forthcoming live-virtual auction on 16 May 2023 is a magisterial still life by Irma Stern, the most prized painter at auction in Africa. A gorgeous confection of colour, Still Life with Dahlias and Pumpkin (estimate R10 – 12 million/ $552 330 – 662 795) is one of three Stern’s in the auction from the artist’s sought-after golden period of the late 1930s and 40s.
Taking its cue from the enthralling Stern cover lot, Strauss & Co will be hosting a preview exhibition at its Johannesburg gallery showcasing a bounty of 22 still lifes by important South African artists such as William Kentridge, Maggie Laubser, Alexis Preller and Jean Welz.
The 105-lot catalogue encompasses more than a century’s output and includes works made at the early beginnings of South Africa’s cosmopolitan art scene, notably by Frans Oerder, Anton van Wouw and Pieter Wenning. There are two museum-grade works by pioneer black modernists Dumile Feni and Gerard Sekoto, as well as works by William Kentridge, Sam Nhlengethwa and Berni Searle, artists at the vanguard of South African art’s current international acclaim.
“Strauss & Co has a rock-solid reputation for handling blue-chip works by South African modernists, as was confirmed in March by our sale of a Zanzibar-period Stern for a new African record,” says Dr Alastair Meredith, Head of Sale, Strauss & Co. “Our forthcoming sale has peak works by acclaimed artists working at their zeniths, including Irma Stern with her large and gossamer still life, Dumile Feni with his rare and enigmatic colour drawing of a family, and William Kentridge with his hand-painted etching of a tree.”
Adds Meredith: “Many of the lots have impeccable provenance, including the Feni drawing, which was consigned by his family estate. Gerard Sekoto’s pre-exile painting of a well-known intersection in central Pretoria, executed in his cool observational style, is part of an important collection that we’re delighted to be handling.”

The diverse catalogue for the May auction includes some notable individual works:
Anton van Wouw’s bronze portraying a Mozambican man with crossed arms, Shangaan (estimate R600 000 – 800 000/ $33 140 – 44 181), was cast in Rome in 1907 by the renowned Nisini foundry in Rome. “This dignified, gentle and personal portrait of a Shangaan man is a weighty and significant statement,” says Meredith.
J. H. Pierneef, South Africa’s preeminent landscape painter with a global collector base, is represented by a substantial offering. Landscape with Mountains and Trees (estimate R1.5 – 2 million/ $82 840 – 110 454) is an iconic work from 1954 and features an inventory of must-have motifs in a Pierneef. There are two views of a farm southeast of Johannesburg, both painted in 1932, including Extensive Landscape, Study for Klipriviersberg, Alberton (estimate R1.2 – 1.6 million/ $66 278 – 88 371).
Irma Stern, like Pierneef, was a prolific painter and is represented by four still lifes. Arum Lilies and Bananas (estimate R2 – 3 million/ $110 464 – 165 696) is a high-expressionist composition from 1925. The delicately rendered gouache Potted Caladium on a Windowsill (estimate R800 000 – 1.2 million/ $44 181 – 66 278) dates from 1939. Malay Woman (estimate R4.5 – 5.5 million/ $248 580 – 303 820) is a portrait from 1946 and records Stern’s deep commitment to portraying Cape Muslim women.
Gerard Sekoto’s oil Up Prinsloo Street (estimate R2.5 – 3.5 million/ $138 100 – 193 396), a street scene from his sought-after Eastwood period, was painted in 1946 shortly before he permanently left South Africa to settle in Paris.
Dumile Feni’s rare colour drawing Blue Suede Shoe (estimate R2 – 3 million/$110 464 – 165 696) measures nearly two metres in height and was featured in the artist’s 2006 retrospective at the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
William Kentridge’s late-career interest in botanical subjects received marked attention in his 2022 exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. The auction includes You Who Never Arrived (estimate R1 – 1.5 million/ $55 256 – 82 884), a large hand-pad noted etching of a tree, as well as his Iris-themed works on paper Iris II (estimate R500 000 – 600 000/ $27 625 33 150) and Dutch Iris (estimate R450 000 – 550 000/ $24 862 – 33 150).
Alexis Preller is best known for his enigmatic portraiture but also produced astonishing still lifes, such as Shells (R800 000 – 1.2 million/ $44 181 – 66 278) and Floating Apple (estimate R350 000 – 500 000/ $19 331 – 33 150), both produced in 1975, the artist’s last year.
Peter Clarke, an accomplished printmaker, poet and painter, is represented in the auction by two early watercolours depicting circus entertainers (estimate R150 000 – 200 000/ $8 285 – 11 046 each). They are dated 1957. Two years earlier Clarke won a South African literary award, which led to a vibrant exchange of letters with American poet Langston Hughes, a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Other notable lots include Cecily Sash’s oil Playing Card I (estimate R40 000 – 60 000/ $2 208 – 3 313), which was exhibited at the São Paulo Biennial in 1967, and Walter Battiss’s oil Black Shadow of Red Bird on Blue Water (estimate R200 000 – 300 000/ $11 044 – 16 565), which was specially painted for the critic and art historian Esmé Berman.


Current Press Releases
November
- 2 Nov 2023 Internationally acclaimed but irrefutably South African: Strauss & Co’s marquee summer auction features important works by Billie Zangewa and William Kentridge
- 3 Nov 2023 Strauss & Co Unveils Exclusive Online Sale of Chinese Decorative Arts Masterpieces
- 11 Nov 2023 William Kentridge’s Cat Steals the Show at Johannesburg Auction Week
- 15 Nov 2023 Strauss & Co Unveils Enchanting Online Watch and Jewellery Sales
- 23 Nov 2023 Strauss & Co’s penultimate online auction for 2023 features a focus on Line | Colour | Shape | Form
- 24 Nov 2023 CALLING FOR CONSIGNMENTS: Paintings by J.H. Pierneef and Cinga Samson headline second-instalment of Strauss & Co’s Africa-focused auction in February 2024
- 27 Nov 2023 Strauss & Co and The Nel Erasmus Art Legacy Trust Present Conflux: A Retrospective by South African Postwar Artist Nel Erasmus
October
- 2 Oct 2023 With a focus on Studies and Drawings, Strauss & Co’s October online auction appeals to established and first-time collectors
- 4 Oct 2023 Recently discovered Renoir painting headlines Strauss & Co’s dynamic programme for Toyota US Woordfees
- 9 Oct 2023 Toyota US Woordfees presents exciting Benefit auction featuring established and emerging artists
- 11 Oct 2023 Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg Auction Week celebrates a century of unbroken creativity and invention in African Art
- 19 Oct 2023 Showpiece Renoir leads Strauss & Co’s 111-lot sale of international modern and contemporary art
- 23 Oct 2023 Fresh-to-market paintings by Pierneef, Preller, Sekoto and Stern to be sold during Johannesburg Auction Week
- 27 Oct 2023 International buyers flock to Strauss & Co’s spotlight auction featuring Chagall, Miró and an undiscovered Renoir
- 31 Oct 2023 Moses Tladi and Gerard Sekoto, who opened museum doors for black artists, lead an impressive offering of black moderns at Johannesburg Auction Week
September
- 4 Sep 2023 Strauss & Co Presents a Captivating Auction: Modern and Contemporary Art with a focus on Renowned Artist Alice Goldin
- 7 Sep 2023 Works from important single-owner and contemporary art with museum pedigree lead Strauss & Co’s marquee spring sale
- 12 Sep 2023 Exquisite Selection of Bordeaux and Bordeaux-Style South African Wines to Go Under the Hammer at Strauss & Co
- 21 Sep 2023 Unseen Renoir from South African collection, recently authenticated in Paris, headlines Strauss & Co’s globe-spanning auction
- 21 Sep 2023 Scandinavian designers, French winemakers and a canonical South African painter charm buyers at Strauss & Co’s spring sales
August
- 8 Aug 2023 Strauss & Co’s August online sale covers half a century of South African ceramic art
- 18 Aug 2023 Rare collections of the World's leading wines to be sold as single bottles
- 28 Aug 2023 Highly important Zanzibar portrait by Irma Stern of praying man poised to go under the hammer at Strauss & Co
- 28 Aug 2023 Leading/Inspirational businesswomen, Khetiwe McClain and Jo-Ann Strauss, join Strauss & Co
July
- 3 Jul 2023 Strauss & Co’s upcoming timed online auction provides art collectors with a special focus on the Eastern Cape
- 14 Jul 2023 J. H. Pierneef: Close to Home traces a half-century of innovation and unbroken fascination with the South African landscape
- 14 Jul 2023 Jewels Online: LAUNCH EDITION - Classic emeralds to contemporary designs
- 18 Jul 2023 August Art Month at Welgemeend celebrates the geography, essence and history of the Western Cape
June
- 7 Jun 2023 Strauss & Co’s June Timed Online Auction Features Renowned Contemporary and Early 20th Century Artists
- 8 Jun 2023 Wines from Burgundy & Champagne
- 9 Jun 2023 Rare collections of the world’s leading wines to be sold, together with a uniquely minted NFT, by Strauss & Co.
- 21 Jun 2023 Strauss & Co honours sculptors past and present with a dedicated sale and exhibition
- 26 Jun 2023 Strauss & Co Celebrating Silver
May
- 3 May 2023 Strauss & Co confirms its rock-solid reputation with a catalogue of blue-chip works by South African modernists for its May auction
- 3 May 2023 Strauss & Co's May Timed Online Auction Celebrates Namibian Landscape Art
- 12 May 2023 Rare and Fine Wine from Italy and Spain going under the hammer
- 12 May 2023 From Azaria to Zerffi – an eclectic collection from an art connoisseur family
- 17 May 2023 Rare colour work by exiled south African artist Dumile Feni sells for new world record price at Strauss & Co sale in Johannesburg
April
- 5 Apr 2023 April Timed Online Auction with a focus on Portraits, Heads and Character Studies
- 6 Apr 2023 The 2023 Cassirer Welz Award Winner
- 20 Apr 2023 Important Black Modernist Artists Lead Strauss & Co May Auction In Johannesburg
March
- 2 Mar 2023 Strong results at Strauss & Co’s maiden auction of modern and contemporary art from Africa
- 6 Mar 2023 Strauss & Co’s upcoming March timed online auction celebrates colour and nuance
- 13 Mar 2023 Strauss & Co bring important works by Pierneef, Preller, Stern and Tretchikoff to market
- 23 Mar 2023 Strauss & Co’s strong catalogue of women artists tracks a history of innovation from Maggie Laubser and Irma Stern to Sethembile Msezane and Ruby Swinney
- 23 Mar 2023 Art Nouveau: The Birth of Modern Style with Guest Lecturer, Dr Gregorio Thaon di Revel Mazzonis di Pralafera
- 29 Mar 2023 Record price for Irma Stern at Strauss & Co sale affirms South Africa’s status as the best marketplace to trade artworks by premium South African modernists
February
- 2 Feb 2023 Important Announcements from Frank Kilbourn, Strauss & Co Executive Chairperson
- 6 Feb 2023 Strauss & Co kicks off 2023 with a revitalised programme of online auctions
- 14 Feb 2023 Celebrating Esias Bosch’s centenary
- 16 Feb 2023 Strauss & Co and SANAVA partner on charity auction to secure artists’ studios in Paris
- 16 Feb 2023 The 2023 Strauss & Co Fine Wine Rhône-themed auction is one of our finest line-ups yet, featuring iconic producers from France, South Africa and the New World.
- 23 Feb 2023 Chairperson’s Report
- 27 Feb 2023 Strauss & Co’s Curatorial Voices auction maps the story of art from Gerard Sekoto to Cinga Samson
- 27 Feb 2023 "Art is a human virtue and I have given my whole self to it, for it promotes understanding among races rather than destroys it."—Gerard Sekoto
December
November
- 1 Nov 2022 Irma Stern’s bold portrait of a modern woman presents an opportunity for collectors
- 2 Nov 2022 Strauss & Co presents the most prestigious fine wine collection ever to come to market in SA
- 11 Nov 2022 Strauss & Co’s final live sale of 2022 honours the legacy of art collector, Dr Matthys Johannes Strydom
- 11 Nov 2022 Broad interest in historical and contemporary art underpins Strauss & Co’s solid results
- 18 Nov 2022 Strauss & Co presents works owned by Matthys Strydom, art dealer and storyteller extraordinaire
- 24 Nov 2022 The pedigree of art dealer and collector Matthys Strydom’s collection sees collectors pay premium prices at Strauss & Co auction
- 24 Nov 2022 Strauss & Co’s upcoming November online-only auction offers art collectors a special focus on the Cape
- 25 Nov 2022 Twinkle-twinkle little star, how about some Christmas cheer from Strauss & Co?
- 30 Nov 2022 Norval Foundation Benefit Auction 2022
October
- 11 Oct 2022 Strauss & Co heralds summer with a curated programme of Johannesburg sales
- 13 Oct 2022 Strauss & Co to present the first-ever sale exclusively devoted to Robert Hodgins
- 27 Oct 2022 International report identifies Strauss & Co as dominant reseller of works by William Kentridge
- 27 Oct 2022 Strauss & Co’s sculpture-only sale explores the story of SA sculpture, from past to present