Strauss & co - 2016 Review

The painting sold for the fantastic sum of R341 040. I felt very honoured to have been involved in its sale. Shortly after the work was sold I was introduced to Judy Chalmers, now aged 84. As in the 1993 photograph of her with Pemba, Chalmers was still smiling. Delighted by the auction result, she recalled many interesting stories of her friendship with Pemba. The pleasure of handling this sale didn’t end here. The collector who bought this important work went on to purchase two smaller Pemba paintings on the same auction: a street scene from New Brighton in Port Elizabeth, and another depicting the city’s much-loved memorial commemorating the horses that had served and fallen during the Second Boer War. The 1905 Horse Memorial is only 500 metres from the museum where we held our valuation day. I suggested to the collector who acquired the three works at our Cape Town sale that she consider donating the painting to the institution. She agreed – and, because of Pemba’s close association with the Black Sash and Port Elizabeth, also donated the other two works she had acquired. For me, the serendipity that marked the occasion, the generosity of the collector and the opportunity to experience Pemba’s paintings first hand, will go down in my memory as one of the most rewarding experiences of my job. Alex Richards is a fine art specialist at Strauss & Co, Cape Town. 55