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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

SOUTH AFRICAN ART BREAKS NEW RECORDS WITH BONHAMS AS STERN TOPS £3M

BONHAMS STRIKE GOLD WITH SOUTH AFRICAN MASTERPIECE SALE BREAKING RECORDS AGAIN

Records Fall As Irma Stern Prices Continue To Rise

Three new records for South African artists fell at Bonhams sale of South African Masterpieces in London today, 23rd March, with an Irma Stern at £3,044,000 (R34m), an Alexis Preller at £748,000 (R8.4m) and a Gerard Sekoto at £602,400 (R6.7m).
The Stern was some £600,000 above her last record made at Bonhams October 2010 sale where a painting titled `Bahora Girl’ sold for £2.4m (R26.6m).
The sale total was just short of £9m (R101.2m) but with after-sales is expected to end closer to £10m (R112.4m).
Giles Peppiatt, Director of South African Art at Bonhams, commented after the sale: ”There was evidence of a highly educated group of buyers in the room and on the phone. They picked the best and paid handsomely for it. If the sale has a message it is that there is a growing appetite for the best of Stern but alongside that long discernable trend is the growing number of other artists beginning to command outstanding prices, these names now include South Africa’s leading black artist, Gerard Sekoto and Alexis Preller.”

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

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