District Six, Kaapstad

Strauss & Co is pleased to present Cape Charm: Gregoire Boonzaier Works from a Single-Owner Collection, which distils the artist’s impressive variety and consistent output over a successful 80-year career. Gregoire’s masterful use of pencil, watercolour, gouache and oil is displayed across the still-lifes, landscapes, portraits and self-portraits in the sale.

Born in Cape Town in 1909, Gregoire Boonzaier had an early introduction to art through his father, Daniel Cornelis Boonzaier, who was a painter, political cartoonist and well-known patron of the arts. Following his arts training in London during the 1930s, Gregoire returned to South Africa and made a significant contribution to the country’s art landscape through developing Cape Impressionism and co-founding the New Group. The collective championed a progressive style and program of exhibitions and public lectures that disrupted the conservative artistic circles in South Africa at the time.

The title of this spotlight sale, Cape Charm, gestures to Gregoire’s striking yet gentle representations of the province’s urban and rural scenery. Distinguishable in this regard are the quiet suburban backdrops of Kenilworth and Newlands in lots 315 and 317, as well as the rustic architecture of the Wellington farm in lot 314. Importantly, Gregoire’s depiction of District Six in lot 316 becomes a historic visual archive of the vibrant community that was razed to the ground in 1966 during devastating apartheid-era forced removals.

Among the collection’s highlights are the prized drawings and paintings of trees that are a defining feature of Gregoire’s oeuvre. Notably, Die Rand van die Bos (lot 313) appears on the cover of his book Boomstudies. Though Gregoire focused on trees that were indigenous to the Cape, his studies are reminiscent of Jacob Hendrik Pierneef's celebrated compositions of the trees found in South Africa’s interior veld.

Unique to Gregoire’s approach is the dynamism of his sketchy outlines and a tactile surface that emerged from his experimentation with mottled and dense brushstrokes over the years. Comparing the carefully drawn pomegranate and shells in lot 308 with the ripples of colour that make up the delicate petals in lot 307 also reflects the comfortable interplay in Gregoire’s practice between close render and a more expressive visual language.

The ability to trace the distinct character and evolution of Gregoire’s style within the sale highlights the power of focused collecting. This discernment, around a particular artist or theme, is rare in a South African context, making it an honour to handle the collection. The selection of self-portraits, from the young Gregoire we meet in lot 319 to the aged features recorded in lot 321, are a particularly moving testament to a lifetime dedicated to artistic production.