Strauss & co - 7 October 2019, Cape Town

192 598 Wolf Kibel SOUTH AFRICAN 1903-1938 Man Seated at Table executed circa 1929 oil on canvas board 12 by 11,5cm R40 000 - 60 000 PROVENANCE Freda Kibel, the artist’s widow. Private Collection. EXHIBITED The South African National Gallery, Cape Town, Wolf Kibel: AMemorial Exhibition , 1950, catalogue number 49. 599 Wolf Kibel SOUTH AFRICAN 1903-1938 Portrait of a Young Woman signed; inscribed with the artist’s name and title on a Wolpe Gallery label on the reverse oil on canvas laid down on board 25 by 19,5cm R60 000 - 80 000 PROVENANCE Stephan Welz & Co in Association with Sotheby’s, Cape Town, 19 April 1993, lot 343. Sanlam Art Collection. Sanlam Art Deaccession 2014, where it was purchased by the current owner. Oil paintings by Wolf Kibel are rare. Plagued with poor health, he led a short and tragic life. Along with Stern and Laubser, he represented the vanguard of European Expressionism. However, at that time, South Africa was parochial and conservative in its tastes, believing that naturalism was the true yardstick of quality, and treating Expressionism with misunderstanding and derision. As a result the artist faced an uphill battle to garner acceptance and critical acclaim, struggling to sell his works. The works that Kibel left behind give us an idea of the exceptional talent of an artist whose life was cut short in his prime. His paintings show a sensitivity of line and distortion that echoed his world view. His visual vocabulary has been