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 seasoned collectors. Important blue-chip artists like William Kentridge, JH Pierneef, Alexis Preller and Irma Stern are introduced with helpful biographies.


Jean Welz

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South African 1900-1975 

Johann Max Friedrich Welz, known by the French version of his name, Jean, was born in Salzburg, Austria, into a family of gilders and picture framers. He studied architecture at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna and went to Paris in 1925 to oversee the construction of the Austrian Pavilion at the International Exhibition for Applied Arts. He immersed himself in the flourishing arts and culture scene in Paris and worked on various building projects with prominent Modernist architects such as Le Corbusier, Robert Mallet-Stevens and Adolf Loos. In 1937, Welz, with his wife Inger and firstborn son emigrated to South Africa with a letter of recommendation from Le Corbusier. In Johannesburg he was involved in redesigning and overseeing the rebuilding of the entrance foyer of the Wits University Great Hall after a fire.

Welz’s precarious health forced the family to seek out the dry climate of the Klein Karoo, where they lived in the isolated Tradouw Pass, and then at De Wet outside Worcester. In 1942 Welz was approached to curate the Hugo Naudé Estate after Naudé’s death and he established the Hugo Naudé Art Centre. That year he held successful solo exhibitions in Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Johannesburg and was invited by fellow artist Gregoire Boonzaier to join and exhibit with the New Group.

Welz represented South Africa on the Venice Biennale in 1948 and 1952, and on the São Paulo Biennale in 1957. In the 1960s and 70s paintings by Welz fetched the highest prices of any artist in South Africa. His oeuvre consists of abstracts, still lifes, landscapes, nudes and portraits, often painted in layers of colour glazed or scumbled. Jean Welz was the father of former Managing Director of Strauss & Co, auctioneer Stephan Welz.

135 lots offered      59.26% sold      R 15 004 914
 

Sort by Date Sold Sort by Value
Including Premium and VAT Results include Buyer's Premium and VAT
Jean Welz; Blue Nude
8 Nov 2020
Sold for R 1 251 800
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Still Life (Cezannesque)
8 Oct 2009
Sold for R 1 225 400
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Still Life with Three Vessels and Checked Tablecloth
9 Mar 2009
Sold for R 1 225 400
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Resting Model
15 Mar 2010
Sold for R 946 900
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Still Life with a Bowl of Figs
6 Mar 2017
Sold for R 886 704
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Irises
12 Nov 2012
Sold for R 612 700
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Nude of a Young Girl
6 Mar 2017
Sold for R 568 400
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Still Life with Pumpkin and Fruit
12 Oct 2015
Sold for R 454 720
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Breede River, Cape
24 May 2010
Sold for R 423 320
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Cape Cart
9 Mar 2009
Sold for R 423 320
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; The Little Theatre, Hugo Naudé Art Museum, Worcester
5 Mar 2018
Sold for R 420 616
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Jean Welz; Matisse's Model
11 Apr 2021
Sold for R 409 680
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT

Results in green indicate post sales.

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