Archived

Surprisingly good value at Strauss & Co Cape Town auction

22 Sep 2012

Seductive still life paintings include Irma Stern’s Still Life with Pomegranates (R5 000 000 – 7 000 000) and Erik Laubscher’s stunning evocation of his 1950s Parisian years (R400 000 – 600 000). Destination paintings feature Spanish Tomato Pickers (R3 000 000 – 5 000 000), a Madeira harbour (R2 000 000 – 3 000 000) and a Zanzibar Market (R300 000 – 400 000) all by Irma Stern as well as Greek Islands in paintings by Terence McCaw (R30 000 – 50 000) and Marjorie Wallace (R25 000 – 35 000).

Lovely local landscapes by Maggie Laubser range in price from R300 000 – 700 000. Buyers looking for paintings of favourite holiday and coastal destinations can select from a rare painting of Baviaanskloof by Stanley Pinker (R400 000 – 500 000), Hermanus seascapes by Hugo Naudé (R350 000 – 500 000 and R70 000 – 90 000), a 1943 view of Hout Bay (R250 000 – 350 000) by Maurice van Essche as well as paintings of Arniston, Saldanha and Blouberg. Historic Bo-Kaap scenes by New Group painters Gregoire Boonzaier (R250 000 – 300 000) and Freida Lock (R120 000 – 160 000) will delight collectors. While Naudé’s Spring Landscape (R60 000 – 80 000) erupts with sparkling flowers, two paintings from Andrew Verster’s Fragile Paradise series (R30 000 – 40 000 each) evoke the subtropical abundance of Durban.

In other major works Walter Battiss delves into San culture in his pioneering Five People in a Cave (R500 000 – 700 000) while Johannes Meintjes explores the Swazi landscape and its people in two paintings (R300 000 – 450 000 and R200 000 – 250 000). Sculptures include Sebatiaan (R300 000 – 450 000) a carved yellowwood figure by Meintjes as well as animal and figurative bronzes by Dylan Lewis.

Key contemporary artworks include William Kentridge’s major drawing and mixed media work Untitled (Head) (R400 000 – 600 000) and a portrait of famed international art critic, Clement Greenberg (R90 000 – 120 000), by Robert Hodgins. A pair of art deco armchairs (R40 000 – 60 000) upholstered in hand-printed fabric by Steven Cohen will no doubt turn heads.

Works on offer from the Estate of the Late Phil du Plessis, medical doctor, poet, intellectual, musician and friend of local art cognoscenti and artists, include paintings by Walter Battiss, Christo Coetzee, Judith Mason and ceramics by Hylton Nel.

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For purposes of quoting, the text on the works of art was written by Emma Bedford, Senior Art Specialist, Strauss & Co.

AUCTION
Monday 8 October 2012
Jewellery at 12pm
Furniture, Silver, Ceramics & Glass at 3pm
South African & International Art at 7pm
The Vineyard Hotel, Conference Centre, Newlands

PREVIEW
From Friday 5 to Sunday 7 October from 10am to 5pm
WALKABOUTS
Conducted by Stephan Welz and Emma Bedford
Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 October at 11am
ENQUIRIES
+27 (0) 21 683 6560
CONTACT NUMBERS DURING VIEWING AND AUCTION
Mobile +27 (0) 78 044 8185
Fax +27 (0) 21 683 6560
Catalogues are available and can be purchased at R120 online or from our offices.
www.straussart.co.za

Media Liaison:
Bina Genovese, Executive Director +27 (0) 21 683 6560 / +27 (0) 78 044 8185
bina@straussart.co.za