Four Namibian artworks up for sale at Cape Town auction week
Strauss & Co, the leading auction house for modern and contemporary art, fine wine, and decorative arts, announced its marquee live-virtual auction happening at its new premises in Woodstock, Cape Town.The event is scheduled during Cape Town Art Week from 26 to 28 March 2023 and showcases artworks by renowned artists who have travelled and worked in Namibia, Maud Sumner and Adolph Jentsch.
Maud Sumner's early work was influenced by the French Avant-Garde artists of the École de Paris, particularly Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. Her work took a turn towards abstraction and heightened colour on returning to Paris in 1947. Her visit to Namibia in 1965 led to a significant shift in her work, with themes of the luminosity of space and silence taking centre stage.
The auction features prime examples of her Namibian period, including lot 11 Swakopmund (estimate N$140 000 – N$180 000) and Lot 12 The Old Salt Road, Leading into Swakopmund (estimate N$140 000 – N$180 000).
Adolph Jentsch, the most iconic and evocative painter of Namibian landscapes, was profoundly influenced by eastern philosophy, particularly Taoism. He painted the vast open spaces, endless horizons, still heat, and blazing light of his surroundings. The auction showcases his famous two large-scale oil paintings, Lot 13 Extensive Landscape, Namibia (estimate N$200 000 – N$300 000) and lot 14 Windhoek (N$250 000 – N$350 000).
The preview exhibition for Cape Town Art Week is open to the public from 13 to 28 March 2023 at Strauss & Co’s public gallery at Brickfield Canvas, 35 Brickfield Road, Woodstock, Cape Town or can be viewed online at www.straussart.co.za.