Strauss & co - 20 May 2013, Johannesburg

165 269 Alexis PRELLER south african 1911–1975 Gold Primavera signed and dated ‘67; a note adhered to the reverse dated August 1967 reads ‘my dear Erich, This painting is for you, with appreciation and friendship, love Alexis.’ oil and gold leaf on panel; in the artist’s hand-made frame 23 by 18 cm, excluding frame R600 000–900 000 provenance The Collection of Erich Frey The Collection of Karin Skawran exhibited Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, Alexis Preller Retrospective, 24 October to 26 November 1972, catalogue number 134 Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows, 13 October to 5 December 2009 literature Berman, Esmé and Nel, Karel. Alexis Preller: Collected Images. Shelf Publishing, Johannesburg, 2009, illustrated in colour on pages 216 and 217 Berman, Esmé and Nel, Karel. Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows. Shelf Publishing, Johannesburg, 2009, illustrated in colour on page 268 notes Alexis Preller was known to ‘from time to time take out his mentally hoarded treasures and to burnish them. Thus the iconic African Head…recurred again and again.’ 1 Gifted to Erich Frey 2 , Gold Primavera is a tiny work but deservedly justifies the enthusiasm surrounding Preller’s ‘small, jewel-like’paintings. 3 Richly worked in gold leaf and incorporating all the skill and detail for which Preller is renowned, it is presented in a highly polished brass frame. This staging further accentuates the parallels between this work and that of other ikons on wood such as the 1957 Woman with Lyre and The Young King. 4 1. Berman, Esmé and Nel, Karel. Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows . Shelf Publishing, Johannesburg, 2009, page 267 2. Erich Frey undertook a co-operative brass mural panel for Preller’s guest suite at Dombeya 3. Berman, Esmé and Nel, Karel. Alexis Preller: Collected Images . Shelf Publishing, Johannesburg, 2009, page 217 4. Ibid. Erich Frey with Gold Primavera