March ART - A Tribute to South Africa-influenced Art with Special Focus on writer Melvyn Minnaar

28 Feb 2025

Strauss & Co is delighted to announce its upcoming March ART auction, a timed online sale that will close on 10th March 2025 at 2pm.

The sale showcases a curated selection of South Africa-influenced Art, celebrating the diversity and evolution of artmaking in the country. Notably, this sale includes a special focus on the collection of Melvyn Minnaar, a prominent writer, critic and cultural raconteur whose career has shaped the South African art scene for decades.

Minnaar, a self-proclaimed flâneur—a wandering observer of art, literature, and culture—has long been a vital force in the country’s intellectual and creative realms. Known for his insightful critiques, poetic sensibilities, and passion for championing both established and emerging artists. Minnaar’s influence spans art exhibitions, journalism and curatorial projects. The section, A Focus on Melvyn Minnaar is a tribute to his lasting impact on the South African cultural landscape, offering collectors the opportunity to acquire works from his private collection which includes works by South African artist and poet Tyrone Appollis, artist and storyteller Louis Jansen van Vuuren, poet and artist Peter Clarke and graphic artist Azaria Mbatha alongside an extensive selection of art books.

March ART is divided into several curated sections each showcasing a different facet of South Africa-influenced Art. The Art Club Session includes works such as Velaphi (George) Mzimba’s Yellow Apple in Brown (estimate R15,000 – 20,000). This sensual still-life painting showcases the artist’s ability to evoke mood through colour and composition. John Moore’s Giant Anemone and Friends (estimate R4,000 – 6,000), a delicate work on paper that captures a pair of fish enveloped in a sea of soft pink tones. Nelson Makamo’s Profile of a Child (estimate R35,000 – 45,000) depicts a child in a joyful expression, rendered in Makamo’s signature style. Walter Battiss’ Torrey’s Utah (estimate R20,000 – 30,000) which is a surrealist watercolour landscape reflecting Battiss’s distinctive approach to form and colour. The section also includes Norman Catherine’s Shark Eater, (estimate R18,000 – 24,000), a linocut on paper that features a striking figure with elongated limbs, seemingly eating a shark — symbolizing both vitality and possible danger.

The Impression/Expression section emphasises artists’ use of shape, colour, lighting and perspective to create compositions. This segment explores how artists manipulate these elements to convey emotion, movement, and atmosphere and includes works by Johannes Meintjes, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef and Lithuanian painter Pranas Domšaitis who moved to South Africa where he resided until his death in 1965.

The Re/View section includes works that display artists’ attention to detail, including Maurice van Essche’s Still Life with Coffee Pot, Fish, and Bowl (estimate R30,000 – 50,000), showcasing the artist’s serene depiction of domestic life; Christo Coetzee’s Flowers in a Vase (estimate R10,000 – 12,000) which is a simple yet meticulous still life, highlighting Coetzee’s understanding of form and texture.

The March ART auction caters to both established collectors and new art enthusiasts, providing a range of works that highlight the intellectual and aesthetic currents shaping South Africa-influenced Art today.

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Art Club Event: A Conversation with Melvyn Minnaar

In addition to the auction, Strauss & Co will host a special Art Club event on Tuesday, 4th March 2025, at 6 pm, featuring an exclusive evening with Melvyn Minnaar.

The event will include a discussion with Tony Fornali on the book, ‘Kalahari Studio: Modernist Design, African Spirit.’

www.straussart.co.za