Perspectives on Africa
Live Virtual Auction, 17 February 2025
Perspectives on Africa
About the SessionStrauss & Co is pleased to present Perspectives on Africa, a sale that explores the complexity, beauty, and fluidity of perspectives through African art and works by artists with strong ties to the continent. The sale coalesces the rich and varied connections between Africa and its artistic expressions, presenting works that span figuration, landscape, and abstraction, inviting collectors to engage with powerful narratives emerging from Africa's evolving perspectives. The works reflect layered meanings, both as a method of representing depth and dimension as a way of framing our understanding of the world. Work by Contemporary artists reflects on the historical foundations of Modernist artists, exploring themes such as identity, belonging, urbanisation, and re-encounters with tradition, while the sale transitions to Modernist interpretations of Africa, exploring the complexity of colonial encounters, post-independence aspirations, and indigenous practices. Building on Strauss & Co’s commitment to developing a strong local photography market, the sale includes an artist focus on the work of social documentarian Paul Alberts, whose images captured poignant narratives of everyday life, particularly in Cape Town. These works sit alongside David Goldblatt and Zanele Muholi, whose visceral images explore themes of identity, social justice and the multifaceted realities of African life.
About this Item
signed and dated 1958; inscribed with the artist's name and 'Fisherman' on a label adhered to the reverse
Notes
Irma Stern, a prolific painter and avid traveller, produced a diverse body of work that often depicted harbours, coastal villages, lakes, boats, and – significantly, given her humanist outlook – fishing communities. Her maritime scenes, ranging from grand oils and lyrical gouaches to detailed works on paper, capture the traditions and labours of seafaring cultures across France, Italy, Madeira, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, and Zanzibar. The present lot, characteristic of her economical yet fervid late style, was created during a decade of international travel and growing recognition. Stern represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale four times in the 1950s, including the year this work was painted. In 1958, she created several harbour scenes in Spain, notably in Algeciras. The depiction of net weaving and mending in the present lot highlights a vital, collaborative, labour-intrinsic to every fishing community.
Provenance
Strauss & Co, Cape Town, 26 September 2011, lot 299.