Strauss & Co believes that the art auction houses that weathered the pandemic have a responsibility towards the greater art community.
Archived: We must support the art community affected by the pandemic, says Strauss & Co. Part 2

Strauss & Co believes that the art auction houses that weathered the pandemic have a responsibility towards the greater art community.
Strauss & Co have developed a deserved reputation as South Africa’s top auction house. The Strauss & Co team are always hard at work crafting exciting new innovations for their clients and in early March, in a first for South Africa, the new Strauss & Co Shop successfully launched to much fanfare by debuting an exhilarating collaboration with gemologist and jewellery designer Taz Watson.
Strauss & Co is proud to partner with the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF) taking place in Venice at the Hotel Monaco on 20 and 21 April during the opening week of the Venice Biennale.
The first-ever auction devoted exclusively to celebrated South African modernist artist Irma Stern confirmed her pre-eminence in Africa’s vibrant art market when all 140 works offered by leading auction house Strauss & Co found buyers.
Collectable design by an illustrious assembly of modern and contemporary designers, among them Cheick Diallo, Shiro Kuramata and René Lalique, is the focus of Strauss & Co’s Decorative Arts Live Virtual Auction (27 June 2022).
Mention Alfred Thoba’s name inside the mainstream art world – in all likelihood you’ll either receive a blank stare or a vague mention of the artist’s seminal 1976 Riots painting.
Pioneer modernists Laubser, Pierneef, Preller, Sekoto and Stern headline Strauss & Co’s Cape Town Auction Week
2020 was a year for the ages and presented challenges at every level of our operations. Despite the ravages of a global pandemic, Strauss & Co remained committed to its vision of being an innovator and leader in the sale of modern, post-war and contemporary art, decorative arts, jewellery and fine wine.
One of the highlights in Strauss & Co’s April 2021 marquee auction, to be held in Cape Town from 11–13 April, is The Madonna and Child of Soweto, also known as the Black Madonna, executed in 1976 by renowned abstract painter Larry Scully.
Original works by Banksy and Mr Brainwash, two trailblazers of the disruptive street art scene, as well as an early assemblage work by Simphiwe Ndzube lead Strauss & Co’s diverse catalogue of contemporary art up for sale on 13 April.