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Stunning Stern leads the field at Strauss & Co's Cape Town auction in September
23 Aug 2011
Irma Stern’s Two Arabs (R20 000 000 – 25 000 000) is certainly the most important painting to be offered at auction in South Africa over the past decade and will no doubt create a great deal of excitement amongst collectors at Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction to be held at the Vineyard Hotel, Newlands, on 26 September 2011.
Of great interest are a number of impressive paintings by J H Pierneef, including the early Trees by a Dam (R2 000 000 – 3 000 000), displaying clear Impressionist influences and Karoo, a gift from the Women’s Committee of Pretoria to HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone in 1930.
Several appealing paintings are also of historical interest such as Pieter Wenning’s From Grove Road, Claremont with Devil’s Peak and The Bridge, Rondebosch (both at R800 000 – 1 200 000), Hugo Naudé’s The Artist’s Garden (R100 000 – 150 000) and Dorothy Kay’s superb Self Portrait with Red and White Scarf (R350 000 – 450 000), in which the artist depicts herself in front of her famous family portrait now in the permanent collection of Iziko South African National Gallery.
Jane Alexander’s something’s going down, 1993-94 (R400 000 – 600 000) is a powerful evocation of South Africa on the cusp of democracy. Strong works by Cecil Skotnes, Lucky Sibiya, Robert Hodgins, David Goldblatt, William Kentridge, Deborah Bell, Brett Murray and Andrew Putter will appeal to collectors of contemporary art.
Buyers also expect to see some good quality pieces of silver and furniture and, as usual, this sale does not disappoint. Amongst the excellent examples of English, Continental and Cape silver is a particularly noteworthy set of four decanter stands, Benjamin Smith II and James Smith III, 1811, attractively pierced and chased with vines (R120 000 – 150 000).
Some of the more desirable pieces of furniture are expected to perform well, including a dainty late 19th century Vernis Martin cabinet-on-stand, by Sormani & Son, regarded at the time as being one of the most important cabinet makers in Paris (R70 000 – 90 000), an early Cape yellowwood and stinkwood gateleg table (R100 000 – 150 000) and a jonkmanskas (R100 000 – 120 000).
For purposes of quoting, the text on the works of art was written by Emma Bedford, Senior Paintings Specialist, Strauss & Co.
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2011 Press Releases
December
- 1 Dec 2011 Art and Glass Sparkle at Strauss & Co's Cape Town Auction in February
- 1 Dec 2011 Chairman's Report 2011
November
October
- 14 Oct 2011 Will tallest Sithole break new auction records?
- 15 Oct 2011 Gerard Sekoto at the Pinnacle of his Career
September
August
- 23 Aug 2011 Stunning Stern leads the field at Strauss & Co's Cape Town auction in September
- 29 Aug 2011 Stunning Stern comes to the market
July
- 5 Jul 2011 ALUMNI AND STAFF EXHIBITION and AUCTION & Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town
- 21 Jul 2011 Over R718 000 raised for art bursaries at Michaelis
May
- 10 May 2011 Lost painting by Stern recalls one of South Africa's greatest musicians
- 20 May 2011 Greater Strength and Variety in the Art Market
April
- 1 Apr 2011 Flower name raises over half a million
- 13 Apr 2011 Pieter Wenning, an underrated artist
- 14 Apr 2011 Good Value in Quality Art at Strauss & Co
March
- 8 Mar 2011 An expensive cup of coffee
- 16 Mar 2011 Art beats JSE Index
February
- 3 Feb 2011 Two Early Cape Paintings
January