Record results for Sekoto and Siopis lead buoyant Strauss & Co Johannesburg sale

2 Jun 2026

A sustained mood of optimism among collectors drove strong results for modern and contemporary art at Strauss & Co’s flagship Johannesburg auction on 26 May 2026, with record prices achieved for important paintings by Penny Siopis and Gerard Sekoto. The highlight of a busy programme of Johannesburg sales, the Evening Sale grossed R42 648 438. The combined Day and Evening sales of art earned R49 524 342.

Penny Siopis’ Al Fresco, a monumental 1990 painting incorporating collaged imagery of mining activity, sold to a telephone bidder for R3 431 250 / $209 038, establishing a new world auction record for the Cape Town painter. Painted circa 1939, Sekoto’s Horse and Cart, Sophiatown attracted spirited bidding before selling for R5 261 250 / $320 525, a new South African auction record.

“These hugely positive results build on the momentum we saw in the second half of 2025, and were encouragingly matched by depth across the modern and contemporary art categories,” says Alastair Meredith, Director and Head of Art Department, Strauss & Co. “General market sentiment aside, the sustained international visibility of South African artists is highly persuasive for collectors. The record price achieved for Gerard Sekoto follows his appearance in the 2024 Venice Biennale and at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2025. Similarly, Siopis’ highly important painting featured in her first European museum survey in Athens in 2024.”

The Evening Sale affirmed the enduring strength of the market for J.H. Pierneef across all price points and media. Pierneef’s Bushveld Landscape with Trees from 1947, a monumental scene produced at the height of his power and popularity, electrified the salesroom. Bidding eventually narrowed to three contenders, with a telephone bidder securing the work for R3 316 875 / $202 070. Enthusiastic bidding for Pierneef’s Hartjie van die Bosveld, Potgietersrust (Transvaal), culminated in a commanding result of R2 058 750 / $125 423. Fellow modernists Alexis Preller and Vladimir Tretchikoff also performed strongly, with a determined room bidder securing Tretchikoff’s Chrysanthemums for R2 973 750 / $181 166.

The Evening Sale also delivered solid prices for contemporary artists William Kentridge, Brett Murray, Berni Searle, Ruby Swinney, Angus Taylor and Billie Zangewa, many of whom are currently enjoying heightened international visibility. Searle and Zangewa both have works included in the main exhibition of the 2026 Venice Biennale. Murray’s sculptures are the subject of a survey exhibition at Norval Foundation in Cape Town. Kentridge currently has museum surveys in Brussels and Prague, and will premiere his production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at Glyndebourne in June.

The buoyant mood was palpable from the outset. An Irma Stern gouache from 1948 depicting Venice sold well above estimate for R693 150 / $42 228. This momentum continued with George Pemba’s joyful 1970 composition Music, which drew keen bidding across all sales channels. The final price of R1 016 620 / $61 934 is the highest achieved for Pemba at Strauss & Co and underscores the continuing upward trajectory of black modernist artists.

The accompanying Day Sale also produced strong results for works by Esther Mahlangu and Cecil Skotnes. However, it was a mosaic with found objects that stole the show: Armando Baldinelli’s Abstract Composition sold for a world record price of R293 125 / $17 858, signalling renewed interest in this mid-century Johannesburg artist. Viewed in conjunction with the achievements in the Evening Sale, the two sales reflected sustained collector confidence in both canonical South African modernists and internationally visible contemporary artists.

Strauss & Co’s traditional autumn programme in Johannesburg was bookended by two single-owner sales reflecting the distinct collecting interests of Durban arts patron Dr Vera Dubin and legendary auctioneer Stephan Welz and his wife, Carmen Welz. A bittersweet occasion for many Strauss & Co staff who knew and were mentored by Welz, the two-part sale Deep Roots: Selected Works from Stephan and Carmen Welz featured modern and contemporary art, Cape furniture, ceramics and a library of books. Meanwhile, 100 Years: Lalique, Silver and Art from the Collection of Vera Dubin comprised Lalique glass, finely worked silver and art.

Buyers showed particularly strong interest in the Welz collection’s holdings of modernist art, with works by Irma Stern and J.H. Pierneef attracting the most competitive bidding. Stern’s 1937 gouache Ponte Vecchio, Florence emerged as the top lot, selling above estimate for R808 675 / $49 599. Two works by the auctioneer’s father, artist Jean Welz, also achieved solid prices. Among the furniture offerings, collectors competed vigorously for a 19th-century stinkwood and yellowwood inlaid trinket box, which sold for R24 025 / $1 474, and a 17th-century Dutch marquetry-inlaid side table, which realised R38 440 / $2 358, both well above estimate.

Dubin’s refined collection of glassware by French designer René Lalique formed the opening section of 100 Years. Leading the group was a rare pre-war closed-model Gros Scarabées vase, which achieved R199 325 / $12 143. A cubistic portrait of a young woman painted in 1929 by Swiss painter Rodolphe Théophile Bosshard went for R199 325 / $12 143.

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