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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John Henry Amshewitz

South African 1882-1942 


John Henry Amshewitz was a painter, muralist, and illustrator. He was born in Ramsgate, England, in 1882 to a Jewish family and was the son of Orthodox rabbi and scholar Asher Amschejewitz. Amshewitz studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1902 to 1907 under masters like John Singer Sargent, Sir George Clausen, and Solomon J. Solomon.

While still a student, Amshewitz won major commissions, including murals for Liverpool City Hall (1907) and the Royal Exchange, London (1910). He illustrated works by Israel Zangwill and was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1914, becoming a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy.

Though British-born, he is also closely associated with South African art, where he lived and worked during two extended periods until his death in Muizenberg in 1942. He held numerous exhibitions, founded the Johannesburg Sketch Club, and completed major murals, including one for the University of the Witwatersrand (1936) and Pretoria City Hall (1938). His works are held in prominent collections in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


48 lots offered      47.92% sold      ZAR 419 281
 

  Including Premium and VAT Results include Buyer's Premium and VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Old Cape Scene
12 May 2025
Starting at ZAR 8 000USD 439
John Henry Amshewitz; Loaf Rock, Muizenberg
9 Oct 2024
Sold for ZAR 7 035
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Market Square Scene with Figures and Camels
9 Oct 2024
Sold for ZAR 11 725
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Still Life with Porcelain Figurines
15 May 2023
Sold for ZAR 5 628
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Horse and Carriage
15 May 2023
ZAR 18 000 - 20 000
 
John Henry Amshewitz; The Magician
25 Apr 2022
Sold for ZAR 12 898
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Bebe Daniels in 'Rio Rita'
14 Mar 2022
Sold for ZAR 35 175
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Pritchard Street, Johannesburg, circa 1918
29 Nov 2021
Sold for ZAR 7 035
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Old Cape Scene
25 Oct 2021
ZAR 20 000 - 30 000
 
John Henry Amshewitz; Farm near Ceres
14 Sep 2021
Sold for ZAR 19 933
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Study of a Head
19 Oct 2020
Sold for ZAR 2 932
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
John Henry Amshewitz; Masquerade
1 Jun 2020
ZAR 8 000 - 12 000
 

Results in green indicate post sales.