Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction will be headlined by a striking portrait, returning from Australia, of one of Irma Stern’s closest friends. It will go on auction on Monday 23 May at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg.
Irma Stern’s captivating 1943 portrait, Portrait of Freda Feldman in Basuto Hat, is back in South Africa. The work is being offered at Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg auction on 23 May 2016. It is expected to fetch between R5 000 000 and R7 000 000. The portrait is accompanied by the original Basotho hat (or mokorotlo) worn by the sitter.
Its subject, Freda Feldman, was one of Stern’s most intimate and enduring friends. The pair met when Feldman (née Ginsburg) married prominent businessman and public intellectual Richard Feldman, who, along with respected photographer and art dealer Leon Levson, was part of an influential group of Jewish patrons who greatly aided Stern, particularly during her early career.
More information regarding this seminal painting can be found via Strauss & Co can be found here.
The auction also offers a wide range of exceptional works by major South African artists including Irma Stern, JH Pierneef, Pieter Wenning, Walter Battiss, Anton van Wouw and Gregoire Boonzaier. Among the contemporary works on offer are a good selection by Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge, Peter Clarke, Penny Siopis, Willem Boshoff, Kendall Geers, Karel Nel, Kudzanai Chiurai, Pieter Hugo and Cameron Platter.
Important South African and International Art
Johannesburg, Monday 23 May 2016
The Wanderers Club, Illovo
Ballroom, 21 North Street, Illovo, Johannesburg
GPS Co-ordinates: S 26 08.123 E 28 03.454
Johannesburg, The Wanderers Club, Illovo
Friday 20 May to Sunday 22 May from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Walkabout
Sunday 22 May at 11am
011 728 8246 | www.straussart.co.za
