Strauss & co - 2015 Review

2015 ended on a deeply sad note for Strauss & Co with the sudden death on Christmas day of Stephan Welz, following a short illness. He was one of the founding directors of Strauss & Co and embodied all that the company stands for: integrity, honesty and professionalism. Stephan’s extensive knowledge of the South African art market has enabled the company to grow exponentially and achieve the success it has justifiably enjoyed. With Stephan at the helm of his hand-picked and committed team of experts, the company has gone from strength to strength, achieving many new auction records. The resultant rise in the South African art market has been nothing short of meteoric. Stephan will be deeply mourned by all of us. His foresight in creating a legacy of unparalleled experience, a repository of priceless knowledge and a unique cultural ethos will ensure that his successors will be inspired and equipped to continue to drive the company onwards and upwards. 2015 was a successful and rewarding year. For the first time, since we opened seven years ago, our turnover has surpassed the R200 million mark. This is the highest yet, not only for Strauss & Co, but for any auction house dealing in South African art and reaffirms Strauss & Co as the global market leader for South African art and South Africa’s leading auction house. The total shows an increase of 16.83% from last year and a sell- through rate by lot and value combined of 81,7%, once again the highest in the current market. Sales figures were driven by strong interest in top quality items across all the categories that Strauss & Co auctions: art, furniture, decorative arts and jewellery. The top end of the market remained strong as evidenced by the number of lots that sold above R1 million (28 in all). For a team of under twenty, these results are indeed most impressive! Said Stephan Welz, “The results for 2015 confirm the strength of the South African art market. There is an undeniable appetite for high quality art that represents the best examples of an artist’s work.” Our four live auctions held yearly, two in Johannesburg and two in Cape Town, have become fixtures on the global South African art circuit providing the perfect opportunities for new and seasoned collectors. Our focus remains on serving our clients whenever and however they choose to connect with art, through auctions, previews, special events or online. In my very first report in 2009, I stated that Strauss & Co had not only “become a name that speaks of extraordinary art, as well as unparalleled expertise and service, but that it is also by turnover the largest fine art auction house in South Africa.” I am delighted to be able to attest, seven years later, that we still retain our position at the forefront of the South African art auction market - no mean feat in this competitive market. 2015 has been a busy and productive year. In addition to our four live auctions and four online-only auctions, we were involved in a number of fundraising auctions and events including The Cape Wine Auction, The Brian Joffee Auction, The WAM Endowment Auction, the Artist Proof Studio Education Endowment Auction, The Friends of Welgemeend and Boerneef / Kilbourn Fundraising Dinner and Debate, and many more. Never has the dictum ‘South African art performs best in South Africa‘ been more true. With the weakening in the South African rand and Strauss & Co’s commission rates, which are still the lowest in the business, our company is the most competitive in the current auction market. Records This year we set 21 new artist records – the most we have ever achieved – and interestingly the majority are for modern and contemporary artists. On pages 6-9 we list our new records together with the existing records held by Strauss & Co. We also achieved a South African record for furniture, breaking two of our previously held records. We take great care in monitoring the performance of the many artists we handle each year and are proud of the high sold rate percentages achieved. We continue to lead the South African art market by offering a broad spectrum of artists, thereby widening opportunities for collectors. Top performers Of the South African masters, works by Pierneef and Irma Stern continue to headline our sales, achieving impressive results and high percentage sell-through rates – in 2015 94,4% and 87,5% respectively. This year Anton vanWouw and Alexis Preller dominated the salerooms. All four of the works by VanWouw sold and a new record was achieved for Miner with Hand Drill which, after competitive bidding, was sold for a record R4 774 560, more than double the previous record set by us in 2013. Two major works by Preller, The Creation of Adam I and Chairman’s Report 4