Specilialists from Strauss & Co, South Africa’s premier auction house and the global leader for South African art, will be in Namibia from today, Monday, 19 June from 10h00 to 18h00 at the National Art Gallery and on Wednesday, 21 June at the Swakopmund Museum from 10h00 to 17h00, to conduct free valuations of art, silver, Chinese porcelain and objects.
Members of the public are encouraged to make use of this special opportunity.
Senior art specialists Alastair Meredith, Wilhelm van Rensburg and Ian Hunter will be available to provide valuations on paintings, works on paper and sculpture by South African, Namibian and international artists.
The South African art market is bouyant and artworks offered for sale at Strauss & Co attract attention both locally and internationally thanks to the company’s extensive network of clients and far-reaching marketing strategies.
At a recent auction in Johannesburg, a world record of R20 462 400 was achieved for an unseen masterpiece by JH Pierneef, while important works by artists including Irma Stern, Maggie Laubser, Alexis Preller, William Kentridge, Walter Battiss, Stanley Pinker, Erik Laubscher and Vladimir Tretchikoff fetched over R1 million. There is a significant demand for sculpture with high prices achieved for works by Anton van Wouw.
The auction house aims to focus, among others, on works by Namibian artists that occasionally appear at auction and that are also in demand. A Namibian landscape by Adolph Jentsch was sold in Cape Town for R795 760 earlier this year setting a South African record for the artist.
Caro Wiese, ex-Namibian director of Strauss & Co, who will be accompanying the specialists, is excited about the visit.
“I remain passionate about the country and its art. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce Namibian art to a wider market.”
Apart from art, there is also a great demand for Chinese porcelain and objects, as well as for English, European and Oriental silver.
Senior specialist Vanessa Phillips, joint managing director of Strauss & Co, will also be present to conduct valuations.
A public lecture on JH Pierneef titled ‘A period of discovery and mastery’, will be conducted by Alastair Meredith. Pierneef had a close bond with Namibia and often claimed that he found his niche as landscape artist in this country.
A donation of N$30 for the benefit of the ‘Come Together Workshops’ in Windhoek, and in Swakopmund on behalf of the Museum, will be much appreciated.
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