A blissful late-career still life by pioneer French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir will lead “Transcending Boundaries”, South African auction house Strauss & Co’s spotlight auction of art from the Americas, Asia Pacific, British Isles, Europe and South Africa on 25 October 2023.
Painted in 1912, Renoir’s “Fruits” or “Oranges et Citrons” is estimated R2-3 million. “Fruits” bears the defining hallmarks of this much-admired painter’s late style and was recently authenticated by the Wildenstein Plattner Institute in Paris.
Acquired in the 1970s by a South African collector, Renoir’s energetic small-scale study of oranges and lemons casts a timely spotlight on the worldly tastes of South African collectors. Renoir’s “Fruits”/“Oranges et Citrons” forms part of a curated selection of collectable art by high-profile artists such as Mr Brainwash, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, Edward Seago, Henry Moore, Nam June Paik, John Piper and Tom Wesselmann. “Transcending Boundaries” also includes in-sale focuses on Albert Adams and Enslin du Plessis, expatriate South African artists whose much-admired work was strongly influenced by continental art movements.
“Featuring artists from 20 countries, “Transcending Boundaries” offers an insight into the generational tastes of collectors in South Africa,” says Ian Hunter, Head of Sale, Strauss & Co. “The catalogue encompasses a wide cross-section of artistic expression, from the late Victorian period to contemporary street artists.
We are particularly delighted to be offering “Fruits”/“Oranges et Citrons”, which Renoir painted at his estate of Les Collettes in the south of France. The recently authenticated composition, which will appear in the forthcoming Pierre-Auguste Renoir Digital Catalogue Raisonné, is a reminder of the wonderful international artworks still to be found in South African collections.”
To France, with love from South Africa
Starting in the 1950s, dealers such as Matthew Whippman and Henry Lidchi in Johannesburg and Joseph Wolpe in Cape Town acquired top international artists for their South African clients. They serviced the market with fresh and exciting British and European studio lithographs and etchings by the likes of Chadwick, Chagall, Miro, Moore, Nicholson, Picasso, Piper and Tilson, and American artists such as Rauschenberg, Rosenquist, Stella, Warhol and Wesselmann. Many of these artists appear in “Transcending Boundaries.”
Alongside Renoir, the sale is headlined by another Gallic artist, Mr Brainwash (aka Thierry Guetta). His neo-pop composition Madonna is estimated to sell for R900 000, and leads a strong consignment of contemporary graphics by Bambi and Takashi Murakami. Highlights from the English paintings include Edward Seago’s glade scene, “End of the Garden - Summer Morning”, estimated to fetch R120 000 - 160 000 and Julian Trevelyan’s Sienese Landscape-Variation II from 1958 is set to sell for R40 000 - 60 000, which is distinguished by its Renoir-like hot-orange pallete.
