Perspectives on Africa

Live Virtual Auction, 17 February 2025

Perspectives on Africa
About the Session

Strauss & 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.


Current Bid

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Lot 152
  • Paul Alberts; Migrant Labourers, Single Quarters, Breakwater Prison, Cape Town 1980
  • Paul Alberts; Migrant Labourers, Single Quarters, Breakwater Prison, Cape Town 1980


Lot Estimate
ZAR 30 000 - 40 000
Current Bid
Starting at ZAR 25 000
Location
Cape Town
Shipping
Condition Report
May include additional detailed images
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About this Item

South African 1946-2010
Migrant Labourers, Single Quarters, Breakwater Prison, Cape Town 1980

signed and inscribed with the title in ink in the margin; inscribed with the title in pencil on the reverse

hand printed gelatin silver print
image size: 18,5 by 28cm; sheet size: 30 by 40cm, unframed

Provenance

The Paul Alberts Estate.

The Photographic Archival and Preservation Association.

View all Paul Alberts lots for sale in this auction