Year: 2016

The illustrious Cape Town manor home of Welgemeend, an estate founded on the slopes of Table Valley in 1693 and declared a monument in 1944, will once again open its doors for a month-long winter exhibition of important South African art (5 August – 2 September 2016).

Paintings dominate the offerings in Strauss & Co’s forthcoming October sale in Cape Town, but there is a noticeable contemporary attitude about this spring auction.

A night of vigorous bidding at Strauss & Co’s s spring auction in Cape Town generated R58 million in sales, a record for the Cape Town office and the second highest individual sale result for South Africa’s leading auction house. The sale, which featured over 630 pieces, achieved an 82.5% sell-through rate, an achievement unmatched by rivals.

Important South African and International Art, Decorative Arts and Jewellery – Cape Town, 10 October 2016

A key work by painter Alexis Preller, for decades presumed lost, is among the standout lots on Strauss & Co’s forthcoming Johannesburg summer auction. The sale, scheduled to take place at the Wanderers Club on 7 November, includes a number of important works repatriated to this country from international collections, notably by Preller, Walter Battiss, Cecil Skotnes and Edoardo Villa.

Important South African and International Art – Johannesburg 7 November 2016

A career-spanning selection of paintings made by Alexis Preller between 1935 and 1975, some held in major collections and many unseen for decades, will go under the hammer at Strauss & Co’s forthcoming auction in Johannesburg. "What an array of ways of working!" enthused Professor Karel Nel, a respected artist and noted Preller expert, during a recent lecture on Preller. The lecture, which was hosted by Strauss & Co, offered an insight into the biographical context and outstanding aesthetic attributes of the ten Preller lots on offer.

Irma Stern’s striking oil portrait from 1956, Lot 226, Woman with Blue Headscarf (estimate R2 000 000 – R3 000 000), is one of a number of remarkable works from the collection of Liselotte and Walter Hardebeck going under the hammer at Strauss & Co’s upcoming 7 November sale in Johannesburg. Other notable works from this collection include Lot 223, Stern’s Watussi Chief’s Wife (with Head Dress), a charcoal drawing from 1946 (estimate R200 000 – 300 000), and a group of five little-seen works by Alexis Preller.

Much loved Afrikaans actor, director, author, screenwriter and producer Tos Du Toit’s collection of South African art will be sold at Strauss & Co on Monday 7 November in Johannesburg.

The sale of rare and important paintings by Alexis Preller, some held in major collections and unseen for decades, capped a day of vigorous bidding at Strauss & Co’s summer auction in Johannesburg. This auction of important South African and international art, the last of Strauss & Co’s four annual live sales, drew a full house to the city’s illustrious Wanderers Club.