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.

Irma Stern: A Modern Artist between Berlin and Cape Town


578 lots offered      87.20% sold      ZAR 727 687 159
 

  Including Premium and VAT Results include Buyer's Premium and VAT
Irma Stern; Cleaning Fish
15 Mar 2010
Sold for ZAR 2 116 600
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Isla de Tabarca
15 Mar 2010
Sold for ZAR 200 520
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Still Life with Tiger Lilies, Fruit and a Melon
8 Oct 2009
Sold for ZAR 2 116 600
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Carla
8 Oct 2009
Sold for ZAR 5 570 000
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Still Life with Red Flowering Gum
8 Oct 2009
Sold for ZAR 4 233 200
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Still Life with Dahlias
8 Oct 2009
Sold for ZAR 4 233 200
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Forest Scene
7 Sep 2009
Sold for ZAR 445 600
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; White Houses Madeira
9 Mar 2009
Sold for ZAR 5 792 800
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Gondolas, Venice Lagoon
9 Mar 2009
Sold for ZAR 222 800
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Two Women Carrying Pots
9 Mar 2009
Sold for ZAR 50 130
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; Boy With A Felt Hat
9 Mar 2009
Sold for ZAR 57 928
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Irma Stern; White Sands
9 Mar 2009
ZAR 2 500 000 - 3 500 000
 

Results in green indicate post sales.