artthrob news

As several of the major auction houses prepare for their first auctions of the year, sentiment is running low.  Straus & Co. has estimated that its sale on the 6 February will be 60% lower than last year's. They have only three paintings that have been estimated over the million mark: two of them Irma Sterns from her Zanzibar period, the other a Pierneef.

Bonham’s director for South African art, Giles Peppiatt, stated that the predictions for this year’s South African art sales are made to look even worse due to the...

As several of the major auction houses prepare for their first auctions of the year, sentiment is running low.  Straus & Co. has estimated that its sale on the 6 February will be 60% lower than last year's. They have only three paintings that have been estimated over the million mark: two of them Irma Sterns from her Zanzibar period, the other a Pierneef.

Bonham’s director for South African art, Giles Peppiatt, stated that the predictions for this year’s South African art sales are made to look even worse due to the fact that last year’s was hugely inflated by the sale of the Irma Stern Arab Priest that fetched a record R34 million. Peppiat believes, however, that this year's depressed market will be more a case of buyers riding out the economic crisis than the more gloomy prediction of an intrinsic collapse in demand.

Stephan Weltz & Co., whose first sale is on 21-22 February, have also intimated that their figures will be down from last year’s.