{"id":825919,"date":"2025-05-29T16:10:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T14:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=825919"},"modified":"2025-05-29T16:10:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T14:10:55","slug":"the-south-african-artist-who-set-a-world-record-by-selling-a-painting-for-r245-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/825919\/the-south-african-artist-who-set-a-world-record-by-selling-a-painting-for-r245-million\/","title":{"rendered":"The South African artist who set a world record by selling a painting for R245 million"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A painting by South African artist Marlene Dumas has sold for R245 million at auction, setting a new record for a living female artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marlene Dumas’ 1997 painting “Miss January” <\/em>recently sold for over $13.6 million at an auction in New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Painted in 1997, the work sees Dumas revisit \u201cMiss World,\u201d an artwork depicting the forms of 10 models she painted 30 years prior at the age of 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Christie’s, the auction house where the artwork was sold, the painting is considered Dumas\u2019 \u201cmagnum opus\u201d and stands 2.82 meters tall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a separate statement from Christie\u2019s published earlier this month, the painting was expected to fetch between $12 million (R215 million) and $18 million (R322 million).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marelize van Zyl, CEO of Aspire Art, said<\/a> the painting is emblematic of Dumas\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Zyl described it as a \u201clarger-than-life portrait\u201d painted initially for a 1998 solo exhibition in Amsterdam titled Miss World.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While its title might suggest glamour, the image tells a different story\u2014a vulnerable, detached female figure drawn from an erotic magazine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt challenges the viewer,\u201d Van Zyl said. \u201cDumas gives us a very subtle but very serious critique about the objectification of women\u2019s bodies throughout art history and social history in the media and art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Zyl added that the painting\u2019s path to auction was equally significant. It came from the renowned Rubell family collection in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whose support of African-American and Global South artists, Van Zyl noted, has been pioneering in recent years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst of all, this work carried immense provenance,\u201d Van Zyl explained. Not only had it been part of a major private collection, but it had also been exhibited extensively in museums across the U.S. and internationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the critics, all the art historians, all the social historians\u2026 if they write about issues of womanhood, identity, gender issues\u2014they will use this work as a primary example,\u201d Van Zyl said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cape Town-born artist <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Award-winning South African artist, Marlene Dumas.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Marlene Dumas<\/a> was born in Cape Town and raised in Kuils River in the Western Cape, where her father had a vineyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town, before leaving South Africa in 1976 to pursue further studies in Amsterdam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam in 1979 and 1980. Dumas began painting in 1973. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her work reflects her political concerns and reflections on her identity as a white woman of Afrikaans descent in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt a very, very early stage her talent had been seen,\u201d Van Zyl explained, noting that Dumas quickly rose to international prominence for her emotionally intense and layered painting style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dumas is known for exploring complex and often uncomfortable themes related to identity, sexuality, and politics while challenging traditional norms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t shy away from complex issues\u2026 be that personal, political or socio-cultural,\u201d Van Zyl added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what makes her work so incredibly successful \u2014 it makes you stop and think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dumas\u2019 work is represented in museum collections worldwide, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Paris, The Hague, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others include the Museum f\u00fcr Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and Tate, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dumas has received several notable awards, including the D\u00fcsseldorf Art Prize (2007), the Rolf Schock Prize in the Visual Arts (2011), and the Johannes Vermeer Award (2012). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Dumas lives and works in the Netherlands and is one of the country’s most prolific artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spotlight on South African art <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Marlene Dumas’ 1997 painting “Miss January” being sold by auction house Christie’s.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This sale not only set a new world record for the highest price ever achieved by a living woman artist at auction but also highlighted the potential of South African and African artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Van Zyl, this achievement is highly significant not only for its monetary value but also for what it represents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt highlights the importance of representation, recognition, and the changing narrative about African and female artists in the international art scene,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Dumas has long been considered one of Africa\u2019s most influential artists, alongside peers like William Kentridge, Van Zyl added that her success offers inspiration for other local artists, particularly women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be in Europe or in America,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can create from our continent, from our country. The world has become much smaller with digital platforms.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that there has been a growing global appetite for contemporary African art over the past two decades, with investors and collectors increasingly drawn to the richness of the continent\u2019s stories, materials, and perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Zyl also noted the record-breaking sale as a much-needed correction in the art world. \u201cFor too long, art history and collections have been dominated by a Eurocentric narrative,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Zyl added that despite continued disparities in pricing between male and female artists, this milestone sale signals change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe trust that it will inspire collectors and investors to look at our pool of creative female artists in South Africa and the broader continent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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