Strauss & co - 12 November 2018, Johannesburg

9 Nevertheless, even from the 1920s, there were a few individuals who supported and bought the work of particular black artists (Howard Pim, for example, who promoted the work of Moses Tladi). Art competitions, academy exhibitions, and agricultural shows, gave platforms to a small number of black artists, and later, from the 1950s and 60s, the private galleries – the Adler- Fielding Gallery, Gallery 101, and others – began to deal in works of black artists. Thus, for The Neglected Tradition, I was able to source important works from some private collectors, as well as from the artists themselves, many of whom I had known through my work at the Funda Centre in Soweto, Katlehong Art Centre, and the Johannesburg Art Foundation. After the exhibition in 1988, there was an immediate increase in interest from a handful of collectors, and between 1998 and 2018 there has been enormous growth in the demand for art by black South Africans. Looking back, one could focus on the gaps: the absence of photography, for example, from the original exhibition. In the 1980s, the art world had not embraced photography as an art form per se and ‘serious’photography was at a distance from the art world, being most at home on the thresholds of social conflict. Looking forward, what or who still remains ‘unsung’? There is a flourish of interest in the contemporary, but we need to ensure that there is proper consideration of the past, and of those diverse talents that may remain unrecognised. We no longer talk about black and white, but about diversity and inclusion. But we still experience neglect, in some ways, albeit neglect of a different order. What we experience is no longer a neglect specifically of black artists, but a neglect of resources: our public museums, libraries, and research collections are under-resourced, there is an absence of catalogues raisonnés of artists in general, and archives are under-researched. Perhaps this could become part of the work of the newly-resourced privately-owned museums. The prospects for the ‘unsung’ involves ensuring that the commercial galleries, auction houses, and museums, private and state, develop a common practice of writing, researching and re-introducing the unsung to diversified audiences. Steven Sack, September 2018 Now, on the thirtieth anniversary of the Johannesburg Art Gallery’s landmark show, Session 2 of the sale, An Unsung History , presents a selection of work by artists included in the original Neglected Tradition exhibition, as well as others whose work could fall under the same banner. Lots 161–270 Original poster for The Neglected Tradition exhibition.