Abstract Mask I

Presented in this focus sale is a selection of paintings and drawings by Sidney Goldblatt (b. Johannesburg, 1919-1979). Featuring works in oil, watercolour, ink and mixed media, there is an intriguing range of subject matter in the collection, reflective of Goldblatt’s refusal to be restricted to a singular style. The collection comes from the late artist’s widow, Wendy Goldblatt, who has worked to preserve his artistic legacy.

The fluorescent animal studies (lots 719 and 720) are connected to Sidney Goldblatt’s love of nature, while the figures and landscape in lots 718 and 723 speak to his engagement with the people and scenery he encountered during his travels. Most notably, Goldblatt drew and painted Spanish coastal towns including Marbella, where he and his wife lived for six months between 1957 and 1958.  The abstracted figures on horseback (lots 716 and 717), and the abstract masks in the sale (lots 703, 710, 711, 712 and 714), carry the geometric compositional quality of his acclaimed Spanish works.

A series of paintings made in response to the 1973 Yom Kippur War are what led Sidney Goldblatt down the path of working in an abstract manner. These artworks have a distinctively lyrical quality, as they were made while Goldblatt listened to radio reports on the conflict. Similar sweeping brushstrokes of colour can be seen in the abstract compositions of lots 705 and 725.

Many works in the sale, including the standout abstract lots 707, 708 and 709, feature robotic forms that are linked to Goldblatt’s exploration of the impact of mechanisation on human beings and the natural world.

Sidney Goldblatt is underappreciated within South Africa’s art historical landscape, especially compared with his peers such as Cecil Skotnes and Douglas Portway. Therefore, we are particularly pleased to offer the collection in this focus sale as it expresses Goldblatt’s commitment to artistic freedom and showcases his innovative use of colour and form.