Strauss & co - Review 2021

The potential of themed and single-artist sales to galvanize collector focus bears further scrutiny. These specialist initiatives drew on curatorial innovations introduced in 2020. The overwhelming response by collectors to the various bespoke sales held in 2021 was very encouraging. They have given momentum to future specialist sales in 2022. Strauss & Co executive director Susie Goodman highlighted the importance of specialisation and focus following the successful conclusion of African Lion: John Muafangejo Works from the Orde Levinson Collection in May. “This sale represents an important milestone for Muafangejo in the secondary market,” said Goodman. “It is a resoundingly positive assertion for an artist who, over the past few years, has built up a significant base of new collectors.” Goodman also highlighted the role that provenance plays in successful sales, stating that collectors were persuaded by the fact that the Muafangejo consignment originated from a noted collector and scholar of the artist, Orde Levinson. The optimism heralded by the Muafangejo sale was not misplaced. Over 650 online bidders located across the globe participated in the historic white-glove sale of works by JH Pierneef in July. JH Pierneef: IN/SIGHT was an encyclopaedic offering of 69 works made between 1901 and 1955. Overseen by Dr Alastair Meredith, head of Strauss & Co’s art department in Johannesburg and an authority in early twentieth-century art, the sale featured drawings, linocuts, watercolours and highly collectable oils. Every lot sold. “The depth of interest in Pierneef, one of our Old Masters, is remarkable,” commented Frank Kilbourn shortly after the suspenseful conclusion of JH Pierneef: IN/SIGHT , which saw Susie Goodman reopen the bidding on the only unsold lot which concluded in a white-glove sale (100% sold). “The bulk of the people placing bids were aged between 40 and 59, which is very promising. It heralds the emergence of a new generation of Pierneef collectors. I am also encouraged by the fact that among the successful bidders half of them were new buyers.” The auction trade is not exclusively defined by benchmark prices. Auction houses such as Strauss & Co provide an important platform for discriminating collectors to dispose confidently of their much-loved collections. Commenting on the white-glove sale of ceramic sculpture by Hylton Nel and Nico Masemola in November, Vanessa Phillips, Strauss & Co’s joint managing director and head of the decorative arts department, remarked: “This extraordinary collection was pieced together over many years by a Southern Cape couple. It reflected not only their connoisseurship but also their personal friendship with Nel, an artist potter who lives in Calitzdorp.” The year under review also saw the introduction of a guest curator session in Strauss & Co’s popular online-only sales. Artist Nandipha Mntambo, winner of the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award, inaugurated the 2021 season in February. This exciting collaborative initiative introduced Strauss & Co’s clients to Kim Kandan, gallery director of the KZNSA Gallery in Durban in March; Amohelang Mohajane, curator of the NWU Gallery at North-West University in August; Kutlwano Mokgojwa, a curator at Wits Art Museum in September; and artist Sam Nhlengethwa in November. 14