A rare Ernest Mancoba, two Pierneefs and a Jane Alexander were among the art works that raised a whopping R48 million in an auction by Strauss & Co in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
“The success of the sale once again proves the strength of the South African art market,” said the gallery’s Bina Genovese in a statement released after the auction on Monday night.<\/p>\n
Musician, a wood carving by Mancoba, who started out as a teacher before turning his hand to carving and later settling in Paris, surprised afficionados by fetching R613,872 after being valued at R70,000.<\/p>\n
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s Die Wolk, Naby Winburg, O.V.S (The Cloud, Near Winburg, Orange Free State) fetched R1,079,960, and his Farmlands, Free State fetched R966,280.<\/p>\n
Irma Stern’s Still Life with a vase of Pomegranates was sold for R1,023,120 and Serviceman, a hooded figure by Jane Alexander, went for R966,280.<\/p>\n
Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier’s Bo-Kaap, Overlooking Table Bay, got R1,136,800.<\/p>\n
Those who bought anything by Vladimir Tretchikoff, before the paintings shook off their association with the cluttered lounges of eccentric aunts, have been doing well, with Portrait of a Zulu Maiden going for R2,046,240.<\/p>\n
Shrouded Figure in a Landscape by William Joseph Kentridge fetched R2,159,920.<\/p>\n
Former University of Witwatersrand fine art lecturer Robert Griffiths Hodgins’ A Cosy Covern in Suburbia went for R1,364,160.<\/p>\n
The bronze Leopard Chasing Bush Buck by Dylan Lewis, known for his sculptures of animals, fetched R1,250,480.<\/p>\n
A 1909 painting by Dutch artist Kees van Dongen of his daughter Dolly in a bright red coat went for R5,684,000.<\/p>\n
A painting by artist, chef and writer Braam Kruger, known as “kitchen boy” before he died suddenly in 2008, depicting himself and his then girlfriend actress Grethe Fox, set a new record for his work with R204,624.<\/p>\n