The rare and expensive: Inside a fine art auction at Strauss & Co

The rare and expensive: Inside a fine art auction at Strauss & Co

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The show starts from the moment you walk into the exhibition space. Held in the impressive structure that is Brickfield Canvas in Woodstock, Cape Town, the Strauss & Co showroom is a marvel of sights: huge windows displaying 360º views of Cape Town’s city, lights, champagne, party dresses, and, of course, the incredible artworks that fill the walls.

Every corner turned reveals a new, spectacular work. Spot a Maggie Laubser to your right; round the corner and come face to face with Irma Stern’s Roses in a Chinese Jar, or a large and arresting Cecil Skotnes; Gerard Sekoto’s The Gossips huddle in the corner. And of course, the prize jewel, hanging next to two of 12 rare Thomas Bowler 17th-century oil paintings, Jacob H Pierneef’s Baobabs, which fetched a massive R5.1-million, the highest bid of the night.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-04-20-the-rare-and-expensive-inside-a-fine-art-auction-at-strauss-co/