Strauss & co - Review 2022

2022 in Brief Strauss & Co sold 6381 lots at 55 auction sessions held in 2022, earning a total income of R354 million ($20,8 million). The geographic location of buyers grew from 29 countries in 2018 to 48 countries in 2022. Nine of the 20 most valuable individual lots sold in 2022 went to international buyers. Irma Stern affirmed her blue-chip status at auction, achieving the highest individual price for a work sold by Strauss & Co ( Dakar Woman , 1938, sold R10 469 600 ($612 130)). Irma Stern and J. H. Pierneef led the rankings of the most valuable individual lots sold in 2022, with Stern placing a total of eight works in the list of top 20 lots sold, followed by fellow modernist J. H. Pierneef with six. Strauss & Co, the leading reseller of works by William Kentridge in the period 2016 and 2022, handling 31% of the total sales globally, reported strong results for this contemporary artist. Strauss & Co sold 53 works over R1 million ($58 881) in 2022. Strauss & Co held a record nine “white glove” auctions in 2022 in which 100% of the lots on offer sold. The wine department excelled, scoring eight perfect sales. In a first for African winemakers, Strauss & Co successfully launched five NFTs linked to vertical collections from five iconic South African wine estates. Strauss & Co presented four standalone auctions devoted to artists Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge, J. H. Pierneef and Irma Stern, notably achieving a white-glove result with its maiden single-artist sale for Stern. Strauss & Co originated two important non-selling exhibitions: Giving Direction: Figuration, past and present , in Cape Town, and Dream Invisible Connections: Dorothy Kay and Mary Sibande, in Johannesburg. Strauss & Co’s global marketing initiatives included sponsorship of the 2022 African Art in Venice Forum, a series of lectures related toWilliam Kentridge in London and partnering on a new fortnightly newsletter focused on African art – The African Art Business Newsletter. 13