The history of Harcroft is bound up in an extraordinary love story which began in 1936, when British born Charles Louis Rycroft flouted the conventions of the time to marry a divorcee, Muriel Susan Elizabeth Parsons. Harcroft Estate, situated on the banks of the Ayer Tawar river in Perak, Malaysia, was a rubber plantation comprising the estate and the factory which Charles’s father, George Henry Rycroft, and his business partner, John Hartley, had purchased in 1919. Merging their two surnames, it was registered as Harcroft Rubber Estates Ltd.
Archived: An icon resurrected: Lucas Sithole 2019 highly important buffalo sculpture to go on sale
An exceptional assembly of bronzes by three trailblazing modernist sculptors – Ezrom Legae, Lucas Sithole and Edoardo Villa – lead Strauss & Co’s robust offering of sculpture at its forthcoming live sale on Monday, 11 November in Johannesburg.
Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions Redefines the Market
The partnership between Africa’s leading art and collectables Auction House Strauss & Co, retailer WineCellar and Higgo Jacobs has given insight into South Africa’s wine history and boosted the fine wine market. The Strauss & Co auction platform has allowed collectors and consumers to buy and sell old wines that have been vetted by a specialist team. Strauss & Co has offered wines
Archived: From Sash to Siopis: Strauss sale celebrates prominent role of Wits University in South African art history
A historically important painting by Penny Siopis forms part of a remarkable consignment of work by former staff and students of the University of the Witwatersrand on offer at Strauss & Co’s upcoming live sale, due to take place on Monday 11 November at 7pm in Johannesburg at their Houghton rooms, 89 Central Street.
15 Years of the Cassirer Welz Award and announcement of the 2025 Award Winner
In 2011, Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer founded this prestigious award, inspired by her husband Reinhold Cassirer’s deep love for the arts. The recognition has evolved into one of South Africa’s most respected platforms for celebrating emerging artistic talent both locally and from the Sub-Saharan Region. When Stephan Welz (Founder member and Managing Director of Strauss &
Archived: Strauss & Co establishes four new world records at its Johannesburg sale
Celebrated contemporary artist William Kentridge affirmed his place among auction stalwarts JH Pierneef and Alexis Preller at Strauss & Co’s R37-million summer sale in Johannesburg. The packed evening sale, which started just before the welcome arrival of overdue rain, saw the auction house establish four new world records for artists, notably Ezrom Legae, whose African Goat, cast at the Vignali Foundry in Pretoria in 1990, sold for R1.7 million.
August Online Auctions – Horizons: Selected South African Landscapes and Seascapes and August ART
In August, Strauss & Co presents two timed online auctions: ‘Horizons: Selected South African Landscapes and Seascapes’ (closing 19 August at 2 pm) and ‘August ART’ (closing 18 August at 2 pm). ‘Horizons: Selected South African Landscapes and Seascapes’ traces South Africa’s rich topography through works by painters who depict the land and seas in
Archived: Strauss & Co to auction contents of historic Constantia mansion
Leading auction house Strauss & Co is privileged to be offering the entire contents of Harcroft House – an imposing 64-roomed Arts and Crafts mansion in the heart of Constantia in Cape Town. The 558-lot auction will take place in situ on Monday 18 November and will be preceded by three days of public viewing, from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 November.
Welgemeend Art Month returns with major exhibition and bold new pledge fund
The 2025 edition of Welgemeend Art Month (6 August – 5 September), now in its twelfth year, reaffirms its commitment to the long-term preservation of the historic Welgemeend homestead, home to Cape Town’s much-loved winter arts festival.
Archived: Vigorous bidding for the contents of Harcroft House in Constantia
Strauss & Co ended its 2019 programme of live sales on a confident note when the contents of Harcroft House, a distinguished Cape manor home in Constantia, was sold. The highest earner among the 558 lots on offer was a Chinese early Republican period, four-panel scroll painting depicting birds in flowering trees, which sold for R432 440, more than four times the estimate.
