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UPCOMING AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS Page 102
Business Art News
STRAUSS & CO
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Online-Only Auction: Modern and Contemporary Art, Decorative Arts and Jewellery, 8 - 15 July 2019 www.straussart.co.za
Sam Nhlengethwa, Zwelethu, R15 000 - 20 000
David Koloane, Sunset, R3 000 - 5 000
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Now inviting consignments of 19th Century, Modern, Post-war and Contemporary Art, Decorative Arts & Jewellery
Cape Town, October 2019
Enquiries: 021 683 6560 jean@straussart.co.za | kirsty@straussart.co.za
Entries close end July 2019www.straussart.co.za
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef At Piernaars River (Rooiplaat), Transvaal, Bushveld (detail) R700 000 – 1 000 000
Strauss & Co: The global leader in the South African art market
Business Art News
STRAUSS & CO
August 2019 is Art Month at Welgemeend www.strausart.co.za
August in Cape Town has now become synonymous with Art Month at Welgemeend: a month of art, lectures and events to raise funds for the preservation and conservation of Welgemeend and the Boerneef Art Collection.
It is preceded by a fundraising gala dinner on 31 July. (For tickets please contact: Helena le Roux: 0732033999). The theme of this year’s exhibition is Satire and Irony and features works by Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker and Alexander Podlashuc from the Kilbourn and Bloch Collections in collaboration with some friends, curated by Frank Kilbourn.
Welgemeend, an historic Cape manor house, is situated in the Cape Town Citybowl. It is here that the art collection and books of the South African poet and linguist known as Boerneef (late Prof IW van der Merwe) are housed. The custodian of Welgemeend, Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck, manages the homestead and the collection in collaboration with the volunteer organisation Friends of Welgemeend. Together they are committed to the preservation of this significant cultural heritage for future generations.
Art Month at Welgemeend is aimed at:
• Creating an awareness and promoting this cultural gem;
• Making private collections available for public viewing; and
• Raising funds for essential maintenance and restoration of Welgemeend.
Art Month at Welgemeend is a collaboration between the Friends of Welgemeend, Strauss & Co, Delaire Graff Estate, Frank and Lizelle Kilbourn including Jonathan and Marion Bloch, amongst others, and the support of Jan van Riebeeck Hoërskool.
For bookings and information welgemeendfriends@gmail.com Tel: 0732033999 / www.welgemeendart.co.za
Robert Hodgins, King and Queen of Spain 2003, Oil on canvas, 91 x 121 cm
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ART MONTH AT WELGEMEEND 1 - 31 AUGUST 2019
SATIRE & IRONY Robert Hodgins | Stanley Pinker | Alexander Podlashuc from the Kilbourn� Bloch ��������������Collections
WED 31 July 18:30 ��������������������- Frank Kilbourn & Jonathan Bloch in conversation about the exhibition R 1000 p/person
THU 01 Aug
10:00 – 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
FRI 02 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 10:00 - 16:00
Exhibition open for public viewing Strauss & Co Art Valuations - bring your artwork/s
See entrance fees below R 20 p/item
09:00 - 11:00
Strauss & Co Art Valuations - bring your artwork/s
R 20 p/item
SAT 03 Aug
11:00 - 12:00
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R 100 p/person
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SUN 04 Aug
Closed
MON 05 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 18:30 - 20:30
Exhibition open for public viewing ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������
See entrance fees below R100 p/person
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TUE 06 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
WED 07 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 18:30 - 20:30
Exhibition open for public viewing ������������������������������������������������������������������������������
See entrance fees below R100 p/person
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THU 08 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
FRI 09 Aug 10:00 - 15:00 Exhibition open for public viewing See entrance fees below
SAT 10 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
SUN 11 Aug
Closed
MON 12 Aug
10:00 – 15:00 18:00 – 21:00
Exhibition open for public viewing���������� �����������������������������������
See entrance fees below R50 p/person
TUE 13 Aug
10:00 – 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
WED 14 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
THU 15 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
FRI 16 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 18:00 - 21:00
Exhibition open for public viewing� ����������������������
See entrance fees below By invitation only
09:00 - 11:00
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R 150 p/person
SAT 17 Aug
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SUN 18 Aug
11:00
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R 150 p/person
MON 19 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 Exhibition open for public viewing �����������������������������������
See entrance fees below R 50 p/person
TUE 20 Aug 1�:00 - ��:00 Exhibition open for public viewing See entrance fees below
WED 21 Aug
1�:00 - ��:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
THU 22 Aug
Closed for private function
FRI 23 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
SAT 24 Aug
Closed for private function
SUN 25 Aug
Closed
MON 26 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 18:00 - 21:00
Exhibition open for public viewing� ��������������������������
See entrance fees below R 350 p/person
TUE 27 Aug
1�:00 - ��:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
WED 28 Aug
18:30 - 20:30
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R 100 p/person
THU 29 Aug
10:00 - 15:00 18:00
Exhibition open for public viewing� �����������������
See entrance fees below By invitation only
FRI 30 Aug
10:00 - 15:00
Exhibition open for public viewing
See entrance fees below
Entrance Fees: Friends of Welgemeend - R30.00 General Public - R50.00
2 Welgemeend Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Scholars (u/18) - Free Group Fees: On Request
Enquiries: info@welgemeendart.co.zaTel: 073 203 3999
ART MONTH AT WELGEMEEND SATIRE & IRONY|1–31 AUGUST 2019
Robert Hodgins | Stanley Pinker | Alexander Podlashuc from the Kilbourn, Bloch and Podlashuc Collections
Robert Hodgins Your Friendly Garage Hand , Bloch Collections
Art Exhibition | Walkabouts | Fundraising Gala Dinner | Wine Workshop | Lectures Strauss & Co Art Valuations | Classical Music Concert
info@welgemeendart.co.za | 073 203 3999 Welgemeend, 2 Welgemeend Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Business Art News
CHANGING TIMES FOR THE ART AUCTION BUSINESS
www.aspireart.net
The news last month that the almost
300-year-old Sotheby’s fine art auction house has been put up for sale to a private entity brought to an end a period of some 31 years during which the company was the only publically traded auction house in the world – listed during that time on the New York exchange.
At the time of writing the prospective buyer is a French-Israeli telecommunications entrepreneur called Patrick Drahi, who has put forward an offer of $3.7 billion, to be effected through his US-based family holding company, a sum which offers a substantial premium to shareholders. According to the New York Post, the auction house has subsequently cast around for better offers. The offer of a private purchase comes as Sotheby’s has consistently been losing ground and marketshare to its major competitor, Christie’s, which is privately held by French billionaire François-Henri Pinault.
The two auction houses, originally both English, and both dating back to the mid eighteenth century, still dominate the global art auction industry, despite the rise of Asian, especially Chinese, houses in the last decade. Christie’s recent, heavily publicised, successes include selling the most expensive single painting in history in 2017, Salvator Mundi, at the time credited to Leonardo da Vinci, for $450m. In 2018 the company sold the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller for $835m, by far the largest amount ever achieved for a private collection.
A common refrain in the competition between the two auction houses, and the main business reason given for the prospective sale of Sotheby’s, is the ‘flexibility’ it will provide
William Kentridge, Stereoscope
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Sam Nhlengethwa, Glimpses. Right: David Goldblatt, Kibble lashers
the company. What this essentially means is that Sotheby’s will have access to funding and potential investment in order to acquire stock and potentially guarantee a minimum price to sellers. Publically traded companies are of course beholden to shareholders, whether institutional or private, in any such dealings. Reporting to shareholders and getting the go-ahead to fund guarantees – essentially a form of future hedging which ensures the work is pre-sold before auction at a minimum amount – can take time. The more agile and flexible position offered by private and wealthy ownership means that highly valuable work can be guaranteed quicker, and thus can be consigned to the privately-held auction house.
The guarantee system has been widelydiscussed and both praised and criticised. Praised because it offers a safety net for sellers, yet criticised because its speculative nature attracts investment capital ‘cowboys’,
looking to make quick money at the highend of the market. Auction house guarantees also represent a considerable competitive advantage in securing vital and scarce inventory.
Locally the guarantee system has never been used in the art auction market, primarily because of the risks involved to both potential third party ‘speculative’ guarantors, and to the auction houses themselves. South Africa’s art auction market has also always been comprised of privately held companies. The ability of these businesses to attract, consign and sell stock is complicated by the relatively small size of the market here, with the consequent smaller pool of local collectors, especially of top-end, high-value signatures. This can be traced in part to the long decades of cultural isolationism South Africa lived through under apartheid, making collecting tastes in the country somewhat insulated from international trends.
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William Kentridge, Mine
Of course, this position has begun to change as the country’s art market is exposed to and becomes much more a part of these international currents. Local auction houses find themselves at a crossroads – do they continue to deal in local work with diminishing returns and collector bases, or do they internationalise where South African work is saleable on international auction platforms? After all, exchange rates mean that guarantees at the multi-million dollar level for such work would not be necessary, and new collectors may well be intrigued.
Among the small roll-call of South African artists who have current international value, William Kentridge is perhaps most prominent. Aspire Art Auctions has positioned itself as the go-to contemporary auction house in SA, and its successes achieved with Kentridge in comparison to international sales make for interesting reading. Its second highest price for a Kentridge drawing, in 2017, was in line with the upper reaches of dollar-linked auction market prices, and its world-record price of R6,600,400, achieved in 2018, for a drawing from the film Stereoscope, still stands to date.
Outside of the contemporary segment, Aspire is focused on other areas of the market that are currently ripe for growth and potential internationalisation. One of these is the underrepresented work by black twentieth century artists, with a recent highlight the selling of a suite of photo-collages, Glimpses of the Fifties and Sixties by well-known Johannesburg artist Sam Nhlengethwa for a world record of R967,300 earlier this year. At the same sale in June, the company also highlighted the depth and collectability of South African fine art photography, selling another local artist with an international market and appeal, David Goldblatt. His powerful image The last of the bigger rocks has just been dropped into a kibble. Now, with shovels, the team “lashes” (loads) the small stuff into the kibble. (1969) achieved R443,440, a world auction record.
Aspire’s results, and its burgeoning roster of international buyers in the South African market, indicate that a lot can be achieved by a smaller, more agile player, with artworks that are poised to grow in value on the global stage. Just ask Christie’s.
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Art, antiques, objets d’art, furniture, and jewellery wanted for forthcoming auctions
Simon Patrick Stone, oil on canvas mounted on board R50,000 - R70,000
View previous auction results at www.rkauctioneers.co.za 011 789 7422 • 011 326 3515 • 083 675 8468 • 12 Allan Road, Bordeaux, Johannesburg
5 th Avenue Fine Art Auctioneers est 1985
Full Results AvAilAble - www.5AA.co.zA
80% of Lots soLd
Next Auction: 14 th July 2019 We are now inviting entries for this auction.
Enquiries: stuart@5aa.co.za ~ 011 781 2040404 Jan Smuts Ave, Criaghhall Park, Sandton
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Business Art News
STEPHAN WELZ & CO
Mid – Year Endeavours www.swelco.co.za
We have reached the half-way mark of the year already and are definitely not slowing down soon. We would like to share some of the highlights of our past auction results for the year so far.
Our Cape Town February auction had some lovely art highlights that we are proud to mention: Lot 379, Anton Smit – Head, sold for R48 762
Lot 400, Flemish School & French School – Six Flemish Renaissance stained glass panels, sold for R98 685
Lot 414, AR Penck, aka Ralf Winkler – Colosseum, sold for R309 660
Lot 420, Anton Karstel – Street Scene, sold for R87 075
Lot 421, Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier – Houses, sold for R83 625
Our Johannesburg April Sale had also some lovely art highlights we would like to share: Lot 293, Edoardo Villa – Standing Figure, sold for R98 685
Lot 304, Adriaan Hendrik Boshoff – Still Life, sold for R113 800
Lot 311, Frans David Oerder – Still life with Irises, sold for R108 110
With the above in mind, we are actively consigning for our upcoming August, October and November auctions across all three of our branches. (Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town). No question is too difficult for us to answer, we invite them. Send us an image via our whatsapp line, email channels or our App. Available from Google Playstore and IOS.
Alexis Preller, Seychelles Girl, sold for R1 219 050
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Above: Paul Gauguin, Les Vielles Filles A Arles From The Volpini Suite, sold for R46 440 Right: Maurice van Essche, Portrait of a woman, sold for R95 280
Carl Adolph Buchner, Harlequin with instrument, sold for R81 270
William Kentridge, Thinking Aloud, Small Thoughts, sold for R232 200
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Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Vasco Da Gama seil om Kaap Punt, sold for R301 860
We try to make the consignment process as quick and efficient as possible. Our specialists are happy to take a look and supply you with an obligation-free evaluation.
Stephan Welz & Co is proud to have entered into a well-grounded collaborative relationship with the Association of Arts in Pretoria. The team at the Association, led by director Pieter van Heerden, always assists any new-comer with the warmest welcome, coupled with sensitivity and a depth of knowledge. With an established presence in the art community and great influence in the Pretoria collectors’ society, the working relationship between Stephan Welz & Co and the Association of Arts in Pretoria makes for fruitful endeavours, and together we are looking ahead to a bright future – thanks to Pieter and the Association’s dedicated service.
Across the board, with so many of the auction houses moving most of their activities to a digital realm, we can happily say that our consignment process has become effortless, with the new Welz-Online App.
If you have an artwork hanging on your wall, snap an image of it with your phone and upload it through the “consignment tab” on our app, and one of our specialists will happily supply you with an auction evaluation on this.
This has enabled us to move with the times, and with surety be able to put together more successful online auctions. We are looking to the remaining half of the year with great anticipation.
For any further information, please do not hesitate to contact any one of our offices: Pretoria: 012 010 0121 Email: pta@swelco.co.za
Johannesburg: 011 880 3125 Business Whatsapp: 079 431 9415 Email: info@swelco.co.za
Cape Town: 021 794 6461 Email: ct@swelco.co.za
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Consignments welcome
Fine art auctions held every month
Sidney Goldblatt
OLD
JOHANNESBURG WAREHOUSE
Antiques Art & Collectables Auctioneers 29 Village Road, Selby, Johannesburg oldjwauctioneers.com info@oldjwauctioneers.com
Tel: 011 836 1650
A SOLO EXHIBITION BY YANNIS GENERALIS
HYBRID VIGOUR ECCE HOMO
10-31 JULY 2019
An exhibition in partial fulfillment of: MTech Fine Art, Department of Visual Art:
Faculty of Art Design, and Architecture at the University of Johannesburg
Business Art News
BUYING ART WITH OLD JOHANNESBURG WAREHOUSE AUCTIONEERS www.oldjwauctioneers.com
Hennie Nieman (SA 1972-) Mythical Conversation, signed with artist’s initials, dated 09 on reverse, oil on canvas, 67 by 87cm - Sold for R180 187
As Art fair season is upon us, it is always good to know, where, how and when to buy art. Although collecting art has always had a stigma attached to it that it is only for the wealthy, Affordable art fairs and auctions around the world have changed that.
Now, don’t get intimidated by the auction headlines in the news. Internationally art has been selling for astronomical amounts for yonks….and locally too. But, the advantage (and the lesser known fact) is that these high flying lots, make up the vast minority of works sold at auction. Through Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auctioneers you can find art pieces that match your taste and budget and get hands-on support from our team of specialists along the way.
Auctions offer you the opportunity to buy art and design at competitive prices, whether
you are interested in traditional masters, contemporary art or retro furniture. From price transparency to artwork authenticity, here are four advantages of buying art at auction.
Price Transparency Auction houses provide price estimates for every lot in a sale. These estimates are determined by in-house experts, who research the artist’s past auction results, the artwork’s condition and significance, and macroeconomic trends to approximate the piece’s market value. Before bidding starts, you can sort lots by their estimates, allowing you to focus only on artworks that fit your budget.
Market Comparables Unlike gallery sales, many past auction results are publicly available and can be used to help steer your bidding decisions.
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“Auctions offer you the opportunity to buy art and design at competitive prices, whether you are interested in traditional masters, contemporary art or retro furniture.”
Auction houses prefer to sell artworks by artists with robust auction markets, as this helps them predict whether a work will sell and for how much. If you are interested in an artwork at auction, it is very likely that a similar artwork by the same artist has sold recently. You can research these selling prices and use them as guideposts when you bid to stay in line with market value.
Timeliness and Ease Auctions are simple: The highest bidder wins the art.
Through Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auctioneers you can use the absentee bid tool and bid via phone from the comfort of your home. Auctions sales are fast sales—so if you are looking to buy art quickly, auctions are a great place to start (and as Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auctioneers have monthly auctions, there is no long waiting period to see what is next available).
Lot A107 - Wim Botha (SA 1974-) Rorschach (After Velasques), linocut on tea stained paper, signed, dated 07 and numbered P.P, sheet size: 178 by 88cm, unframed - Sold for R60 063
Specialist Support Auction houses have dedicated teams of inhouse experts who research the art in their sales, providing you with added assurance about a lot’s authenticity. Our specialists can help you with everything from condition reports to bidding strategy, and this assistance is always free of charge.
For more information on our monthly auctions, please visit our website www. oldjwauctioneers.com, phone us on 011 836 1650 or follow us on Facebook.
Left: Lot A090 - Adriaan Boshoff (SA 1935-2007) Cattle Herd, Meiringspoort, signed, oil on canvas on board, 85 by 120cm - Sold for R156 163
