Strauss & co - 26 September 2011, Cape Town

93 203 Eugene LABUSCHAGNE SOUTH AFRICAN 1921–1990 Girlie and Mr Bezuidenhout studio stamp signature pencil 25 by 35cm R3 000 – 5 000 At first glance this sketch looks like a cartoon. The Bezuidenhouts lived on a farm in the Piet Retief district. Eugene Labuschagne did this sketch of them seated on a bench in the 1950s. Mr Bezuidenhout called his wife“Girlie”and she thus became known to everyone in the district as“Girlie Bezuidenhout”. By the late 1950s Girlie’s obesity problem had become so severe that Mr Bezuidenhout had to modify the back of his old 1940s Chev so that she could fit into it. This sketch is neither a caricature nor a flattering portrait, but a gentle, accurate record of the Bezuidenhouts at their best looking. 204 Eugene LABUSCHAGNE SOUTH AFRICAN 1921–1990 Dancers studio stamp signature lithograph printed in colours 13 by 30cm R3 000 – 5 000 205 Eugene LABUSCHAGNE SOUTH AFRICAN 1921–1990 Swazi Dance studio stamp signature pencil and watercolour 22 by 25cm R5 000 – 8 000 This is a preliminary sketch for an oil painting 206 Eugene LABUSCHAGNE SOUTH AFRICAN 1921–1990 Il Pescatore studio stamp signature pencil, watercolour and gouache 40 by 53cm R7 000 – 10 000 This is the preliminary sketch for “Il Pescatore”, which appeared at the Genoa Biennale in 1951. This sketch was done during 1951 in Volksrust shortly after Eugene Labuschagne returned from his studies in Paris. The resultant oil painting was highly regarded by the organizers of the Biennale and they decided that it was the only entry that they would accept from South Africa. The catalogue speaks for itself. It was one of a few paintings illustrated alongside great European masters such as Fernand Léger, Pignon, Marchard, etc. The Italian press said very complimentary things about Eugene Labuschagne. Glowing reports also appeared in the South African Press, see Sunday Express , April 20, 1952, and especially Die Transvaler , Thursday, 5 November, 1953. This article has a photograph of Walter Battiss holding up the painting with the comment that Eugene Labuschagne’s painting represents the new direction in art. 202 203 205 206