• Irma Stern’s Praying Arab sells for R18.3 million/ $965 415
• Stern market remains strong amidst economic pressures
• Return to form by Cecil Skotnes and Johannes Meintjes
• Sold results achieved for mid-century Scandinavian furniture
• French producers shine in Bordeaux-themed wine sale
Strauss & Co is delighted to present a striking 1943 portrait by Irma Stern, the prolific South African expressionist painter who ranks alongside Georgia O’Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois as amongst the ten most expensive women artists sold at auction globally between 2005-15. The painting will be sold at auction on 23 May 2016 in Johannesburg.
High-quality artworks by top South African and international artists will feature at Strauss & Co’s auction on 23 May at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg
Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction will be headlined by a striking portrait, returning from Australia, of one of Irma Stern’s closest friends. It will go on auction on Monday 23 May at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg.
Strauss & Co’s auction in Johannesburg last night which achieved a total of almost R42 million, was characterised by a packed auction room and a busy bank of telephones. The top lot of the auction, Irma Stern’s Portrait of Freda Feldman with Basuto Hat, which sold on the telephone for over R5 million, was repatriated from Australia to be sold by Strauss & Co.
Important South African and International Art – 23 May 2015 – Top Ten Lots
• Praying Arab expected to fetch R16 – 18 million/ $839 375 – 944 300.
• Composition dates from pivotal Zanzibar period and features original frame.
• Stern market remains incredibly buoyant after 2023 African record.
• Strauss & Co is offering Irma Stern’s, Praying Arab (1945) and Red Dahlias (1955).
Strauss & Co announces the appointment of Khetiwe McClain and Jo-Ann Strauss to the company’s board of directors. Their appointment is effective immediately. Khetiwe McClain, a mining entrepreneur with an international background in art, joins the company as Client Advisory Executive. Jo-Ann Strauss, a media entrepreneur and international speaker, will serve as a Non-Executive Director.
Specialists from Strauss & Co will be visiting East London, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Knysna and Hermanus in June to conduct obligation-free valuations of paintings, sculpture, silver, and Chinese porcelain.
Strauss & Co’s August online auction comprising 250 lots in three sessions with a dedicated South African ceramics focus, is now open for bidding. The timed online auction opens with the latest iteration of Strauss & Co’s Art Club and Impression/Expression sessions. CERAMICS The dedicated ceramic session opens with two special Linn Ware bowls, (c.1930s
