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Strauss & Co, Cape Town, 6 February 2012: the celebrated collection of glass, Chinese works of art, ceramics and Japanese Cloisonne’ assembled by the late Professor Walter Beck sold this week by leading auction house Strauss & Co for R1,5 million, 50% more than anticipated.

Strauss & Co, the global leader in the South African art auction market, is offering valuations on works of art. Senior Art Specialist, Emma Bedford, will be in Strauss & Cos Houghton offices on 6 and 7 March to provide valuations and advice to collectors and source works of art for upcoming auctions.

All eyes are on Robert Hodgins A Gentleman from Mexico coming up at Strauss & Cos next auction of important South African and international art to be held at the Country Club Johannesburg at Woodmead on 11 June 2012.

Following the record breaking sale last year of Irma Stern’s Two Arabs, Strauss & Co previews its June sale of South African and International Art by announcing this star lot by Irma Stern from her celebrated Zanzibari series.

Following the record-breaking sale last year of Irma Sterns Two Arabs for R21 166 000, the highest price ever achieved for a painting in South Africa, Strauss & Cos 11 June auction in Johannesburg will feature another extraordinary painting from this celebrated artist.

Irma Sterns studies of Arabs have caused so much of an uproar in the South African art market that they can be likened to an Arab Spring with Strauss & Co playing no small role in this. Irma Sterns Arab (R7 000 000 9 000 000), painted on the artists first visit to Zanzibar in 1939, is attracting considerable interest given Strauss & Cos record-breaking sale last year of Irma Sterns Two Arabs for R21 166 000, the highest price ever achieved for any painting at auction in South Africa.

Irma Stern has captured the attention of art lovers and serious buyers alike with her paintings achieving phenomenal prices, including the highest price ever paid for any work of art at auction in South Africa when the painting, Two Arabs, was sold by Strauss & Co for R21 166 000 in September 2011. Arab, also painted in 1939, comes up at Strauss & Cos 11 June 2012 auction in Johannesburg.

Johannesburg: At Strauss & Co’s Important South African Paintings auction held this evening at the Country Club in Woodmead, a major portrait by celebrated artist Irma Stern sold for a startling R17 267 000, the second highest price ever achieved for a painting sold at auction in South Africa (the highest price was achieved last year when Strauss & Co sold Two Arabs also by Stern for R21 166 000).

Irma Stern produced a number of paintings of harvest scenes in the 1960s which Neville Dubow has described as lyrical figures-in-landscape compositions, loosely knit yet held together by sweeping rhythms that bind earth, workers and sky.(1) We know that she visited Europe in 1961 and painted in Spain. Its quite possible that Tomato Pickers was painted there as the harvesters wear the same loose-robed dresses and yellow sun hats as seen in Siesta, also painted in 1961. (2)