Strauss & co - Review 2022

Strauss & Co bids farewell to Vanessa Phillips Vanessa Phillips, a founding director of Strauss & Co and respected veteran of the South African auction market, is retiring. Vanessa is widely respected for her connoisseurship and the broad range of her knowledge involving furniture, silver, ceramics, glass and jewellery. Her work ethic and overall commitment to excellence established an important benchmark that enabled Strauss & Co to grow in size and ambition. Vanessa’s encyclopaedic knowledge has been an extraordinary asset and allowed Strauss & Co to bring important private collections to market. During her time at Strauss & Co, Vanessa handled a number of important house sales.They included the contents of the historic Vergelegen Estate in Somerset West, formerly owned by the Phillips and Barlow families; Keerweder, an 18th-century home in the Franschhoek Valley; and Harcroft House, a distinguished Cape manor home in Constantia. She also led sales of important single-owner collections of fine art and decorative art pieces assembled by distinguished collectors such as Professor Walter Beck, Dr Bothma Buitendag, Liselotte Hardebeck, Sonia Lapin, Vivienne Linder, Andrew Newall, Herbert Prins, Louis and Mavis Shill and Gavin Watkins. Vanessa joined the auction trade in 1988, working as a ceramic specialist under auctioneer Stephan Welz at his eponymous company, operated in association with Sotheby’s. Over the next two decades Vanessa broadened her expertise to include furniture, silver and glass. In 2009 she joined Strauss & Co as an executive director and shareholder. She established Strauss & Co’s Cape Town office with colleagues Bina Genovese and Ann Palmer. Alongside her role growing the decorative arts department, in 2016 Vanessa assumed joint responsibilities as managing director of Strauss & Co following the death of Stephan Welz. She served in this role for six years. Cataloguing, an arduous but necessary part of the auction business, remained a passion throughout her time at Strauss & Co. Vanessa’s keen eye for detail and commanding use of the language of appreciation was evident in every item she catalogued during her tenure. Her focus on craft and quality were unwavering. Vanessa frequently shared her passion for objects awaiting sale with younger colleagues; in this, Vanessa was a discriminatingmentor. Her firmcommitment to collectors will be her lasting legacy at Strauss & Co. 65