Strauss & co - Review 2022

Curation – the process of selecting, arranging, presenting and contextualising collectables en masse – has for centuries been a facet of the choreography of auction sales. In the last few years, though, the concept of the “curated auction” has received increased focus by global auction houses. One version of recent history has it that the New York-based auction house Phillips originated the “curated auction” in November 2010, when it gave the private dealer and advisor Philippe Segalot license to put together an auction. An earlier precedent, from 1997, is Sotheby’s The Indian Sale, which successfully presented a curated selection of modern and contemporary Indian art. Whatever its origin, the emergence of the curated auction has everything to do with the increasingly brisk and competitive global trade in art. Auction sales abound. In South Africa alone, there are more than six auction houses regularly selling art. Competition is fierce. Large international auction houses in Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris are increasingly also focussing on African artists. Notwithstanding this broadening of the market, Strauss & Co handled more than 8800 lots of fine art, wine and decorative arts in 2022. Traditionally, these items were packaged and sold together in large general sales. The curated auction is an augment rather than wholesale overhaul of this established practice. It offers Strauss & Co the means to focus collector attention on important and/or overlooked categories of collectables. In 2022 specialists from Strauss & Co’s three departments applied themselves to optimally presenting lots. The wine department led by example. It curated well-received auctions devoted to influential winemaking styles and regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Rhône Valley. It also presented individual auctions devoted to Cape heritage wines, up-and-coming wine brands, as well as organic and biodynamic growers. The art department’s thematic sessions throughout 2022 reflected the diverse ways in which art can be packaged to foster insight and revitalise appreciation. Experts curated auctions exploring the legacies of abstraction, impressionism, expressionism and surrealism in South African art. There were also curated auctions of textile art and watercolours, as well as curated presentations of works from the 1970s and South African artists who had exhibited at the Venice Biennale since 1950. Cape landscapes and the human figure were also spotlighted in individual auctions. Rorke’s Drift  Joseph’s Dream  Sold R25 795 ($1 476) Online, 1 June, The Fabric of Society 25