Artists

From Albert Adams to Portia Zvavahera, Strauss & Co maintains a detailed database of every artist sold at auction since 2009. Whether it is painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, ceramics or new media, this searchable database lists by artist every lot offered and provides aggregated data useful to collectors. Famous South African artists like William Kentridge, JH Pierneef, Alexis Preller and Irma Stern are introduced with helpful biographies along with the best contemporary artists.



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Irma Stern

South African 1894-1966 


After studying in Germany in the 1910s, Irma Stern returned to South Africa and pioneered the acceptance of German expressionism in the country. Initially derided for her innovative style, she gained widespread recognition after the Empire Exhibition of 1936. She excelled in the genres of portraiture and still life, but worked diversely. A prolific artist, she travelled extensively throughout Africa to research and paint. Her golden period is bookended by her visits to Zanzibar (in 1939 and again in 1945). She published two travelogues, Congo (1945) and Zanzibar (1948). In the 1950s she gained international recognition, representing South Africa in four editions of the Venice Biennale. Highly decorated throughout her career, in 1961 she received the Guggenheim Award. Since her death, Stern has been the subject of many books and exhibitions. They include three new monographs in the 2020s alone, as well as exhibitions devoted to her nudes (Irma Stern Museum, 2021) and Zanzibar period (Norval Foundation, 2021). Her international stature has grown since the Qatar Museums Authority purchased Arab Priest (1945) in 2011. In 2024, her work appeared in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale, and in 2025 the Brücke Museum is presenting the first museum survey of Stern’s work in Berlin, the city of her youth.


575 lots offered      87.30% sold      ZAR 727 333 064
 

  Including Premium and VAT Results include Buyer's Premium and VAT
Irma Stern; Seated Zanzibar Woman
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 421 060
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Profile, Zanzibar
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 113 800
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Man Reading
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 28 450
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Zanzibar Head
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 73 970
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Figure
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 31 864
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Figure
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 34 140
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Girl in White Veil
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 273 120
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Nude
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 273 120
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Woman with Lemon
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 318 640
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Grape Harvesters
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 295 880
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Boats
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 96 730
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Figure on Pillow
8 Jun 2022
Sold for ZAR 182 080
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT