An Exquisite Evening of Modern and Contemporary Art

Images by Strauss and Co , Cape Girl with Fruit.

Headlining the 85-lot catalog for the premier evening sale is Irma Stern’s enchanting 1930 portrait, Cape Girl with Fruit.

For many progressive South African collectors, artists like Dumile Feni, Maggie Laubser, Esther Mahlangu, George Pemba, J.H. Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, Lucas Sithole, Irma Stern, Anton van Wouw, and Edoardo Villa form an enduring canon.

These modernist artists, many now gaining overdue international acclaim, are featured in the catalog for Strauss & Co.’s two-part Day and Evening auction of modern and contemporary art in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 28 May 2024.

Irma Stern’s Cape Girl with Fruit, estimated on request, leads the 85-lot catalog for the Evening Sale starting at 7 pm. Created during a period of frequent travel across Southern Africa and regular exhibitions in Europe, this significant, large-scale piece marks the early phase of Stern’s celebrated mature style.

Paradise is also a prominent theme in Alexis Preller’s vibrant beach scene, Fisherman Mending Nets, Beau Vallon, estimated at R3 – 4 million ($162,780 – 217,040), painted during his notable visit to the Seychelles in 1949. Preller, currently featured in a career retrospective at Norval Foundation in Cape Town, has two works in the evening session. Stern has five, including Still Life with Amaryllis (estimate R5 – 7 million / $271,455 – 380,040), painted during her remarkable run representing South Africa at the Venice Biennale in 1950, 1952, 1954, and 1958.

Read More or For more info on the auction and to register for the auctions click here or view the e-catalogue here.