
Works from important single-owner and contemporary art with museum pedigree lead Strauss & Co’s marquee spring sale
7 Sep 2023
• Two curated art sales spanning over a century of art making
• Irma Stern’s Praying Arab from 1945 is highest value work
• Museum pedigree works by Nicholas Hlobo, William Kentridge and Berni Searle
• Seven paintings owned by collector Nedra Jooste on sale
• Strong modernist catalogue of Walter Battiss, Peter Clarke and Alexis Preller
On 19 September 2023, Strauss & Co, Africa’s leading art auction house, will present Irma Stern’s highly important portrait, Praying Arab (estimate R16 – 18 million/ $840,00-950,000), from a prestigious private collection. Stern’s work is the highlight of Cape Town Auction Week (17 – 19 September 2023). This expertly curated series of sales will present fine wines and collectable modern and contemporary art by sought-after South African artists Nicholas Hlobo, William Kentridge, Maggie Laubser, J.H. Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Athi-Patra Ruga and Berni Searle.
“Praying Arab dates from Irma Stern’s second visit to the East African island of Zanzibar in 1945 and is a superb example of the stylistic attributes characteristic of her golden period,” says Bina Genovese, Managing Executive, Strauss & Co. “It is one of four high-value Stern works appearing in our marquee virtual-live sale. There are two gorgeous flower still-lifes from 1955 by Stern, one of them owned by the collector Nedra Jooste. We are also offering an endearing marine landscape with figures from 1933. Whatever the period Stern always commands attention. In March, Strauss & Co established an African record when we sold her 1939 painting Children Reading the Koran for R22.3 million/ $1.17 million.”
Cape Town Auction Week commences on Sunday, 17 September 2023 with a dedicated wine sale, and is followed on consecutive days by two sales of collectable art. On Monday, 18 September 2023, Strauss & Co will present a timed-online sale of 54 artworks. This sale begins with a focus on Cape-themed paintings inspired by the exhibition Cape Moments/Kaapse Oomblikke, curated by Strauss & Co’s Frank Kilbourn and Wilhelm van Rensburg for August Art Month at Welgemeend. It features an impressive modernist catalogue of works by Peter Clarke, Johannes Meintjes, Nita Spilhaus and Maud Sumner.
The premier evening live virtual sale on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 starts with eight paintings from the estate of collector Nedra Jooste, of the esteemed Cordoba wine estate on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain. The session features 85 works spanning more than a century of artistic production in South Africa. There are important works by early pioneers J.H. Pierneef, Pieter Wenning and Anton van Wouw. Painting features strongly in the contemporary selection, with photorealist Keith Alexander, John Meyer and Neil Rodger represented alongside works by younger painters Zander Blom and Georgina Gratrix. The catalogue also includes works by trailblazers Nicholas Hlobo, Mohau Modisakeng, Athi-Patra Ruga and Berni Searle.
“We have grouped the works in both our art sales by genre, not period,” says Jean le Clus-Theron, Head of Sale, Strauss & Co. “Our intention is to suggest continuities in art made in changing times. Both sales are supported by detailed e-catalogues that feature extensive notes and special artist focuses. Contemporary painter Ruby Swinney is highlighted in the timed-online sale, and much-loved painters Walter Battiss, Peter Clarke and Robert Hodgins are similarly profiled in the virtual-live sale.”
High-value modernist paintings on sale during Cape Town Auction Week include J.H. Pierneef’s Houtbos, Transvaal (estimate R700 000 – 1 million/ $38 000 – 54 000) and Irma Stern’s Red Dahlias (estimate R4 – 6 million/ $ 216 000 – 324 000), both from the Nedra Jooste Collection. Irma Stern’s Still Life with Flat Irons, Apples and Blossoms in a Jug from 1955 and Figures on a Beach from 1933 are expected to fetch R3.8 – 4.2 million / $205 000 – 226 000 (each).
There are five works by Alexis Preller in the live-virtual sale. They include Preller’s late painting of a Florentine head (estimate R700 000 – 1 million/ $38 000 – 54 000) and Abstract Composition, a jewel-like triptych from 1969 (estimate R400 000 – 500 000/ $21 550 – 27 000). Norval Foundation in Cape Town will present an exhibition devoted to Preller opening at the end of November 2023.
Two works by William Kentridge lead a strong contemporary catalogue. The painted steel sculpture World on its Hind Legs (estimate R1.5 – 2 million/ $81 000 – 108 000) is the product of a 2010 collaboration between Kentridge and artist Gerhard Marx. The etching Sleeper and Ubu (estimate R600 000 – 800 000/ $32 300 – 43 100) is an important work with editions held by numerous American museums. Other notable high-value works with impeccable international pedigree are Nicholas Hlobo’s 2015 ribbon painting Ityhengetyhenge (estimate R1 – 1.5 million/ $54 000 – 81 000) and Berni Searle’s 1998 photo self-portraits from her Colour Me series (estimate R400 000 – 600 000/ $21 550 – 32 300). (another example from this edition can be seen at Norval Foundation, Cape Town, in the exhibition Having but little Gold: Berni Searle closing on13 November 2023,
Cape Town Auction Week will be preceded by a vibrant education and social programme in the week 11 – 16 September 2023. Works in the sale will be available to view in a curated exhibition at Strauss & Co’s office at Brickfield Canvas, Woodstock, Cape Town.
Current Press Releases
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- 2 Nov 2023 Internationally acclaimed but irrefutably South African: Strauss & Co’s marquee summer auction features important works by Billie Zangewa and William Kentridge
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- 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