Bonhams expects good response on SA art sale

Despite the mixed fortunes of the year's first two art sales in South Africa, and bearing in mind that Bonhams is neither holding a sale of minor work on the eve of the main event, nor hosting a special "Masterpieces" session, the London auction house is still banking on a good response to its sale of South African art on 21 March 2012.

2 Mar 2012

The estimate range of £4.8m - £7.1m, at the current exchange rate of about R12, is equivalent to about R58m - R82.5m. While this is much less than the £8.5m - £13m estimate of Bonhams' last sale in October, only £3.3m was actually realised.

Of the 121 lots, 12 carry estimates starting at £100 000 and upwards, not surprisingly headed by three Irma Sterns: Woman in a Pink Sari at £800 000 - £1.2m, another portrait at £500 000 - £800 000, and Zulu Girl at £400 000 - £600 000. The most highly valued of a number of Pierneef landscapes is put at £300 000 - £500 000.

Stern and Pierneef the major contributors

Completing the top dozen are another Stern portrait (£250 000 - £350 000), an Alexis Preller (Wounded Sculpture, £200 000 - £300 000), two Stern still lifes and a William Kentridge drawing (£150 000 - £200 000), another Pierneef (£120 000 - £180 000), a Preller and yet another Pierneef (£100 000 - £150 000 each).

The above nine Sterns (£2.25m) and three Pierneefs (£520 000) alone contribute £2.77m to the low estimate, and with a number of lesser lots by both artists, their total combined contribution will be comfortably over £3m.

While, as usual, Stern outguns Pierneef in money terms, there are 11 works by him, as against nine by her, and Bonhams seems particularly proud of his contributions, notably the cover lot, with its depictions of an African village. Also illustrated are Gerald Sekoto's Portrait of the Artist's Mother, £60 000 - £80 000 and a Francois Krige landscape £50 000 - £80 000.

Apart from Pierneef and Stern, most represented artists are Cecil Skotnes (ten), Gerald Sekoto (nine), Keith Alexander (six), Francois Krige (five) and John Meyer, Tretchikoff and Maurice van Essche (four each).