Strauss & Co’s Private Sales division offers a discreet and highly bespoke service for collectors seeking to confidentially buy or sell exceptional works of art outside the traditional auction system. Drawing on deep market expertise and an extensive international network, we connect important artworks with the right buyers through carefully managed private transactions.
How it Works
We work closely with collectors, estates, institutions and advisors to provide strategic guidance, bespoke sourcing and flexible selling opportunities aligned with each client’s objectives. Our tailored approach is designed to realise every client’s collecting and selling goals. Whether acquiring a sought-after work or placing a significant collection, Private Sales offers a focused and seamless experience.
Trusted Leadership
Kirsty Colledge, a trusted art advisor and accomplished sales strategist, leads Strauss & Co’s Private Sales division. She is known for her ability to connect collectors with works that align closely with their tastes, ambitions and collecting priorities. Trained as a painter at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, she joined Strauss & Co in 2011 after completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Enterprise Management at the University of Cape Town. Her combination of market insight, commercial acumen and deep understanding of art has been central to the department’s continued growth and success.
Full-service Offering
- Bespoke sourcing: We offer a personalised approach to sourcing specific artworks that reflect a collector’s unique tastes, budget and collecting goals.
- Brokerage of works: We facilitate the sale of important artworks, design pieces and collectibles through direct, confidential negotiation.
- Valuations & advisory: We provide market-informed valuations and strategic guidance tailored to each work or collection.
- Client matching: We are well positioned to place significant works with the right buyers, both locally and internationally.
- Exhibitions & promotion: When appropriate, we offer exposure through curated private sales exhibitions, digital catalogues and targeted marketing to our network.
Blue-chip Roster
Since its establishment in 2024, Strauss & Co’s Private Sales division has discreetly handled the sale of works by leading modern masters and contemporary artists.
Modern masters: Irma Stern, JH Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Robert Hodgins, Cecil Skotnes, Gerard Sekoto and Erik Laubscher
Contemporary artists: Marlene Dumas, Zanele Muholi, William Kentridge, Dylan Lewis, Jake Aikman, Chris Soal and Peter Eastman
Request a full catalogue of artworks available for Private Sale.
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“It is a privilege to work with some of the finest artworks and to place them in significant collections. Irma Stern’s painting Woman with Brass Water Ewer, recently sold through Private Sales, was produced during her first journey to Zanzibar in 1939, a transformative trip that marked the beginning of her celebrated golden period. The vibrant colour, expressive brushwork and assured composition of this era reflect Stern’s bold new vision, a decisive moment when her work found its most compelling and enduring voice. Engaging daily with works of this calibre, and connecting them with passionate collectors, remains immensely rewarding.”
– Kirsty Colledge, Head of Private Sales, Strauss & Co
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