Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (South African, 1886-1957), ‘Highveld Storm’ oil on board, 41 x 56cm (16 1/8 x 22 1/16in) is one of the works sold at the Bonhams South African Sale

ART AUCTION: After so much excitement, Bonhams’ auction of artworks by South African artists did not disappoint. Topping the Bonhams South African Sale was Arab in Black by Irma Stern, selling for £840,000.

BY KAZEEM ADELEKE

John Meyer (South African, born 1942), Fields of Promise acrylic and sand on canvas, 115 x 155cm (45 1/4 x 61in). Image courtesy of Bonhams

Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966), Arab in Black, oil on canvas 61 x 51cm (24 x 20 1/16in), sold for £842,500 (US$ 1,318,238) inc. premium at the South African Sale. Image courtesy of Bonhams

LONDON – Arab in Black by Irma Stern is now one of the top ten South African paintings ever sold at auction. The painting that helped save Nelson Mandela’s life was sold for £840,000 at  Bonhams South African Sale, becoming the most expensive South African painting sold this year. Arab Priest also by Irma Stern holds the world record for a work of art by a South African artist sold at auction.  The painting which sold for £3.04 million at  Bonhams in 2011, also holds the world record for any African art sold at auction.

Arab in Black

Months before Arab in Black went on auction,  there were expectations that it would bring a high auction price. Besides the painting’s provenance, the history surrounding the painting made it a collector’s delight.  Originally owned by art collector, Betty Suzman,  Arab in Black was put up for auction in the early 1960s to raise money for the defense of Nelson and his co-defendants in South Africa’s Treason Trial.

In 1955, Mandela and other members of the African National Congress (ANC) were arrested and charged with high treason, a crime that carried the death penalty. To save Mandela and all those arrested from the jaws of death, the Treason Trial Defense Fund was set up to raise money for legal fees and to support the defendants’ families. In addition to collecting donations, people also put their art collections up for sale.  Arab in Black was one of the works auctioned for the course.

ART AUCTION NEWS | READ ALSO: Painting That Helped Save Mandela Set For Auction History

As expected, collectors were unrelenting in their effort to add Arab in Black to their collection when it came up at the Bonhams South African Sale. As soon as the bidding started, the competition became intense.  In the end, the painting, which had for many years hung in a London flat and used as a notice board, sold for £840,000,  A record auction price by all standards.

The significance of Arab in Black

In describing the significance of the painting, Bonhams Head of South African Art, Hannah O’Leary notes that this is an exceptional and powerful painting. He notes:  “This powerful image from Stern’s highly regarded Zanzibar period, is one of the artist’s finest works. It also has a fascinating past – from an important role in the political history of South Africa to its recent fate as a notice board in a modest London apartment.”

Arab in Black is not the only work by Irma Stern to make an enormous impact at this auction. Another work by the artist titled Congo Woman sold for £122,500 (US$ 191,672) inc. premium. Dated 1929, Congo Woman, the painting has the image of a semi-nude Congo woman. Although not a particular likeness, this representation which is a work of imagination exoticizes its subject in a similar fashion to other works Stern created after returning to Cape Town in 1920. The painting exemplifies Stern’s shift from mimesis to the realm of imagination and ideas.

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef was another important South African artists whose works were part of the South African Sale. His Highveld Storm was one of the top sellers at the auction. The  oil on board painting, measuring 41 x 56cm (16 1/8 x 22 1/16in), sold for £98,500 (US$ 154,120) inc. premium. The landscape painting captures a vast cumulonimbus cloud, hanging over purple mountains, threatening to burst at any moment.

Anton van Wouw’s sculpture titled  Bust of a Zulu got the attention of collectors when it came for auction at the sale.  The bronze sculpture, measuring 55 cm (21 5/8in), sold for £80,500 (US$ 125,956) inc. premium.

Bust of a Zulu

Bust of a Zulu is a powerful sculpture that reveals van Wouw’s talent as a sculptor and portraitist. From the model’s muscular neck and smooth face, carefully contrasted with the rough yet precise peppercorn hair and beard, van Wouw reveals the model’s characteristics. Bust of a Zulu was presented by Prime Minister General Jan Smuts to  Dr. D.L. Smit when he retired in 1945.  Dr. Smit was Secretary of the South African Native Affairs Department (NAD) from 1934 to1945. Between the conclusion of the Boer War and the end of World War II, the department had the responsibility of upholding the power of the traditional chiefdoms, as well as ensuring their rights to bestow land on their subjects that fell within native reserves.

Cast by the G. Massa foundry in Rome, Bust of a Zulu sold by Bonhams is just one of several by the artist. Other editions of Bust of a Zulu are in the collections of the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Reserve Bank art collection, and the Pretoria Art Museum.

The success of the South African Sale shows the progress of South African artists in the global art auction space. Since 2011, when Bonhams sold Stern’s painting Arab Priest for over £3m,  setting a new world record for South Africa’s leading artist, interest in work by South African artists has  grown. However, the success of South African artists in the global art market is also rubbing off on other African artists whose works are gaining credence in the global space. Works by African artists are not only setting record auction prices; they are also creating excitement among emerging and established art collectors.

Top ten works at the Bonhams South African Art Sale

Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966), Congo Woman, oil on canvas 96 x 61.5cm (37 13/16 x 24 3/16in) sold for £122,500 (US$ 191,672) at the South African Sale. Image courtesy of Bonhams

1. Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966), Arab in Black, oil on canvas 61 x 51cm (24 x 20 1/16in). Sold for £842,500 (US$ 1,318,238) inc. premium
2. Irma Stern (South African, 1894-1966), Congo Woman, oil on canvas
   96 x 61.5cm (37 13/16 x 24 3/16in). Sold for £122,500 (US$ 191,672) inc. premium

3. Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (South African,1886-1957), Highveld Storm, oil on board, 41 x 56cm (16 1/8 x 22 1/16in). Sold for £98,500 (US$ 154,120) inc. premium

4. Anton Van Wouw (South African, 1862-1945), Bust of a Zulu, bronze  55 cm (21 5/8in) high. Sold for £80,500 (US$ 125,956) inc. premium

5. John Meyer (South African, born 1942), Fields of Promise, acrylic, and sand on canvas115 x 155cm (45 1/4 x 61in).Sold for £52,500 (US$ 82,145) inc. premium

6. Sydney Alex Kumalo (South African, 1935-1988), Imbongi, bronze 94cm (37in) high (excluding base). Sold for £25,000 (US$ 39,116) inc. premium

7. Jacob Hendrik Pierneef(South African, 1886-1957), Crocodile River, Hectorspruit, oil on board 43 x 53cm (16 15/16 x 20 7/8in). Sold for £23,750 (US$ 37,161) inc. premium

8. Adriaan Hendrik Boshoff(South African, 1935-2007), The Gamblers, oil on canvas laid to board, 123 x 92cm (48 7/16 x 36 1/4in). Sold for £23,750 (US$ 37,161) inc. premium
9. George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba(South African, 1912-2001), The Vote, oil on canvas board, 46 x 61cm (18 1/8 x 24in). Sold for £23,750 (US$ 37,161) inc. premium

10. Vladimir Griegorovich Tretchikoff(South African, 1913-2006), Proteas, oil on canvas, 122 x 61cm (48 1/16 x 24in). Sold for £22,500 (US$ 35,205) inc. premium.
    

    Anton Van Wouw (South African, 1862-1945), Bust of a Zulu, bronze
    55 cm (21 5/8in) high. Sold for £80,500 (US$ 125,956) inc. premium at Bonhams South African Sale. Image courtesy of Bonhams

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