Auctioneer Stephan Welz, the head of art auctioneers Strauss & Co, owes his success largely to a visit to Cape Town, where it seemed as if the statue of Cecil John Rhodes in The Gardens, next to the National Gallery, had a message for him:

Strauss & Co is gearing up for yet another spectacular sale on 11 October 2010 at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands. Managing Director Stephan Welz’s recent visit to Cape Town drew phenomenal responses from eager collectors seeking valuations and wanting to consign valuable items to the next auction. The turnout netted a cache of top works by Irma Stern, J H Pierneef, Maggie Laubser, Stanley Pinker, Cecil Skotnes, Lucky Sibiya, William Kentridge and many more.

The Wheel of Life, a key work by acclaimed South African painter, Stanley Pinker, displays all the signature elements of the artist’s vocabulary. Drawing on a profound understanding of art history and engaging with the contradictions of the South African political and environmental landscape, Pinker forges these elements into a witty and eloquent commentary on this country.

Stephen Welz, South Africa’s leading fine art auctioneer and expert, and Vanessa Phillips, senior furniture, silver and ceramics expert will be in Hermanus at the Marine Hotel on Friday, 30 July from 10:30 to 15:30 to provide confidentail valuations with a view to sell at Strauss & Co.

Following Strauss and Co’s extraordinary success in selling Irma Stern’s Still Life with Gladioli and Fruit for R7 575 200, another still life with Gladioli by Stern has come to the market. Painted in 1939, five years after Stern produced the painting that excited so much heated bidding at the Johannesburg auction on 24 May earlier this year, this painting with estimates of R5 000 000 to R7 000 000 is sure to rouse wide interest at Strauss & Co’s 11 October sale at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands.

Inspirational women activists, Ruth First and Lilian Ngoyi, are immortalised in a fine lithograph by renowned artist Dumile Feni, which is coming up at Strauss & Co’s auction to be held at The Country Club Johannesburg in Woodmead on 1 November 2010.

The top lots coming up on Strauss & Co’s 11 October sale at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands are attracting keen attention from prospective buyers. Amongst these, punters are keeping a close watch on Irma Stern’s Gladioli (lot 163, R5 000 000 to R7 000 000) after a still life painting by the artist fetched R7 575 200 on the company’s Johannesburg auction earlier this year, breaking the record for the highest price achieved at auction for a South African still life.

Strauss & Co: Still life by celebrated artist Irma Stern last night sold for R13 368 000, setting a new record price for a South African painting at auction.

Strauss & Co, the top specialist auction house for South African Fine Art, offers its highest value sale to date with a stellar array of top quality paintings by many of South Africa’s most sought-after artists on its 1 November auction at the Johannesburg Country Club, Woodmead.

Over R66 million, the highest total of the year for any South African art auction anywhere in the world, was realised in Johannesburg on 1 November 2010, proving that South African art sells best on home turf. The record total was all the more remarkable given that Strauss & Co charge considerably lower commission, buyer’s premium and VAT than their main competitors.