BONHAMS OFFER BEST SELECTION OF SOUTH AFRICAN MASTERPIECES EVER SEEN IN LONDON
Bonhams next South African Art sale on March 23 has attracted so many outstanding works following the breaking of the record for South African art last year in New Bond Street, that the sale will now include an evening auction of 20 masterpieces. A number of the works are estimated to achieve prices over £1m.
These 20 pictures are some of the most outstanding and desirable works by Irma Stern Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Maggie Laubser and Gerard Sekoto. The glowing colours and vibrancy of this art out of Africa is already attracting huge interest. Many of these pictures flooded in to Bonhams following the £2.4m (R26.6m) result at Bonhams October sale for Irma Stern’s `Bahora Girl’, an image of a young Indian girl painted in Zanzibar on one of the artists beloved forays deep into Africa.
Giles Peppiatt, Director of South African Art at Bonhams says: “In the five years that we have held stand-alone South African art sales in London, the quality of the work on offer has steadily grown in stature. Without doubt, this latest offering is in a class of its own, hence the decision to hold an evening sale of true masterpieces. These range in value from £100,000 to £2m. It is without doubt the most exciting collection of South African images that I have seen.”
The works have been sourced from South Africa, Europe, Canada and the USA, Israel and Australia. The main sale starting at 2.30pm on March 23 in Bonhams New Bond Street saleroom will include some 100 plus pictures.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further four throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and Switzerland, France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Australia and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com
