Irma Stern portrait of an elite Rwandan woman tops Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg Flagship Auction

14 Nov 2024

Composed of four distinct auctions, the important Evening Sale earned R32.1 million/ $1.8 million from 48 lots sold. Irma Stern’s Watussi Chief’s Wife in Yellow, a gorgeous 1946 portrait showing an elite Rwandan woman, was the night’s top earner, achieving R4.6 million / $252 099.

The Johannesburg Flagship Auction series also saw top prices paid for works by Igshaan Adams, Keith Alexander, Kate Gottgens, Ruan Hoffmann, Dylan Lewis, Zanele Muholi, Nandipha Mntambo, Blessing Ngobeni, Neil Rodger and Harold Voigt.

“Our auctions truly capture the breadth and diversity of South Africa’s extraordinary art history, as well as Gauteng’s central place in that story,” says Susie Goodman, Managing Executive, Strauss & Co. ”The top ten works sold in our Evening Sale were made between 1902 and 2021. It was hugely affirming to see bidders enthusiastically chase after Pretoria artist Anton van Wouw’s affectionate study in bronze of a young art student, cast at the start of the twentieth century in Rome. Equally, it was gratifying to sell a large etching by a much-loved Johannesburg artist, William Kentridge, which was made in 2021 a short drive from our offices at the Artist Proof Studio.”

Anton van Wouw’s The Art Student, an early bronze portraying a youthful Gordon Leith, was one of a number of works to sell above estimate following protracted bidding between potential buyers. Conceived in 1901, Van Wouw’s skilled depiction of the future architect fetched R2.7. million / $149 710, more than double the high estimate. Vladimir Tretchikoff’s large painting Still Life with Magnolias in a Vase also achieved a solid price, earning R2.3 million / $126 049.

The Johannesburg Flagship Auction included a spotlight sale devoted to the Everard Group, a multi-generational family of women painters. The sale earned a respectable R1.3 million / $69 231 from 13 lots sold. Ruth Everard-Haden’s undated landscape, Riverlands Stoep, was the top earner, followed by two works by Rosamund Everard-Steenkamp.

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