February 2013 - Russell Kaplan Auctioneers
Transcription
February 2013 - Russell Kaplan Auctioneers
auctioneers&property auctioneers Fine Art -1- 16 February Fine 2013 Art Session 2 P94 William Kentridge, Untitled I auctioneers Art Auction Saturday, 16 February 2013 1:00 PM www.rkauctioneers.co.za t +27 11 789 7422 f +27 11 789 7609 c +27 83 675 8468 e [email protected] P01 Shilakoe, Cyprian Mpho (SA 1946 - 1972) Follow the footsteps you will find her sleeping Etching, signed, 1970, edition 22/25 29 X 40,5cm R15 000 – R20 000 Cyprian Shilakoe was trained at the famous Rorke’s Drift art and Craft Centre in Natal in the 1960’s alongside artists including Azaria Mbatha, John Muafangejo and Vuminkosi Zulu. He is generally less well known than his contemporaries mostly because he died tragically in a car accident at the age of 26. Using aquatint and drypoint etching techniques, Shilakoe made dark, but shimmering images of lonely figures in desolate spaces. Unlike Mbatha and Muafangejo, Shilakoe made little reference to religious stories, rather presenting a deeply personal, psychological state drawing on his dreams and his cultural belief systems. In Follow the footsteps you will find her sleeping, the high contrast image seems quite abstract at first, but tracing the odd shapes, one can make out two ungainly figures. A large abstracted character lies horizontally across the centre of the picture plane, with starkly white legs, no arms and a haunting, hollow face. In front of her is a smaller figure standing with its back to us, whose arms are also tightly contained within a cylindrical body. It has been suggested that the “sleeping” figure is Shilakoe’s grandmother, with whom he was very close. Made not too long before the artist’s death, this print is almost prophetic, Shilakoe’s grandmother beckoning him into the afterlife. It also has a deep sense of powerlessness and anxiety, reflecting the socio-political circumstances of the time, but in a remarkably different style. In fact, Shilakoe’s style is perhaps more closely related to that of contemporary artists such as Penny Siopis and Robert Hodgins. S V* Reference: 1. SACK, S. 1988. The Neglected tradition: towards a new history of South African art (1930-1988), Johannesburg Art Gallery, 23 November 1988 - 8 January 1989. Johannesburg: Johannesburg Art Gallery. 2. WINTERS, Y. 2009. Indigenous Aesthetics and Narratives in the Works of Black South African Artists in Local Art Museums. Unpublished Masters Dissertation. Faculty of Human and Management Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg. -1- P02 P03 Broadley, Robert (SA 1908 – 1988) Broadley, Robert (SA 1908 - 1988) Coastal scene with figures Fishing boats Watercolour, signed, 1963 27,5 x 37,4cm R1 200 – R1 800 Watercolour, signed, 1964 27,5 x 37,2cm R1 200 – R1 800 P04 Hesselbarth, Berhnard Franz (Berne) (SA 1903 - ) Figures under trees Oil on board, signed 51 x 66cm R1 000 – R2 000 P05 Fielding, Aubrey (SA 1903 - 1981) Farmhouse and trees Oil on board, signed 39,5 x 49,5cm R2 000 – R3 000 -2- P06 Flint, William Russell Sir (British 1880 - 1969) Carmalita Colour print, signed 28 x 31,5cm R1 000 – R1 500 P07 Kobeli, Eli (SA 1932 - 1999) Washday Mixed media on paper, signed 49 x 71cm R2 000 – R3 000 P08 Campbell - Quine, Nina (SA 1911- ?) Portrait and Man on horse Mixed media and monoprint, signed 24,7 x 19,2cm & 19,6 x 25,8cm R800 – R1 200 P09 Mokgosi, Nat (Nathaniel) (SA 1946 - ) Two birds Mixed media on paper, signed 29,5 x 31,2cm R1 000 – R1 500 -3- P10 Sash, Cecily (SA 1924 - ) Wire bird with cart VII Mixed media on paper, signed, 1990 49,5 x 68,5cm R500 – R800 P11 Saoli, Winston (SA 1950 - 1995) Cow and bird Mixed media on paper, signed, 1977 49,5 x 68,5cm R1 000 – R1 500 P12 Macdonald, Longford (British/ South African 1905-1957) Collecting the hay Oil on board, signed 44,5 x 55cm R4 000 – R6 000 -4- P13 Packer, Mary (SA 1892 - 1977) Cape Dutch house Watercolour, signed 39 x 53cm R1 500 – R2 000 P14 Hodgins, Robert Griffiths (SA 1920 - 2010) Golden girl Lithograph, signed, 2005, edition 6/40 55 x 75cm R8 000 – R10 000 P15 Mokgosi, Nat (Nathaniel) (SA 1946 - ) Catching a chicken Mixed media on paper, signed, 1978 34 x 52cm R1 000 – R1 500 -5- P16 P17 Joubert, Keith Eric (SA 1948 - 2013) Joubert, Keith Eric (SA 1948 - 2013) Giraffe Marabu stork Watercolour on paper, signed 35 x 25cm R800 – 1200 Watercolour on paper, signed 35 x 25cm R800 – 1200 P18 Joubert, Keith Eric (SA 1948 - 2013) Warthog Watercolour on paper, signed 25 x 35cm R800 – 1200 P19 Joubert, Keith Eric (SA 1948 - 2013) Kudu doe Watercolour on paper, signed 23 x 24cm R800 – 1200 P20 Joubert, Keith Eric (SA 1948 - 2013) Elephant Watercolour on paper, signed 29 x 22cm R800 – 1200 P21 Hasegawa, Shoichi (Jap 1929 - ) Matincalme Coloured etching, signed, edition 109/110 73,5 x 54,5cm R1 000 – R1 500 -6- P22 P23 Baldinelli, Armando (SA 1908 - 2002), Boys, George (SA 1930 - ) Figure Studies Nude Study Mixed media on paper, signed, 1984 55 x 36,7cm R3 000 – R5 000 Mixed media on paper, signed, 1992 96 x 66cm R2 500 – R3 500 P24 Ntukwana, Hargreaves (SA 1938 - 1997) Figure lying down Mixed media on paper, signed 74 x 121cm R1 000 – R1 500 P25 Abrams, Lionel (SA 1931 - 1997) Abstract compositions Mixed media on paper, signed, two works in the lot, 24 x 32cm each R800 – R1 200 -7- P26 Emmanuel, Paul (South African 1969 -) Parade of shadows Lithograph, signed, 2009, edition 6/35 79 x 156cm R15 000 – R20 000 -8- P27 Clarke, Peter (SA 1929 - ) Empty bottles Linocut, signed 11,5 x 10,6cm R2 500 – R3 500 P28 Mayer, Ernst Karl (Erich) (SA 1876 - 1960) Landscapes Pencil sketch, signed, two works in the lot, 7,5 x 12cm & 8 x 10,5cm R1 500 – R2 000 P29 Van Blommestein, Peter Daniel (South African 20thC), Still life vase with anthuriums Oil on board, signed 46,5 x 28cm R2 000 – R2 500 P30 Skotnes, Cecil Edwin Frans (SA 1926 - 2009) Black and white head Woodcut print, signed, 1966/12/11, edition 5/10 41 x 15,5cm R800 – R1 200 -9- P31 Paravano, Dino (South African 1935 - ) Landscape with river running through trees Oil on board, signed 29 x 39,5cm R2 500 – R3 500 P32 Paravano, Dino (South African 1935 - ) Landscape with mountains, river and trees Oil on board, signed 35,5 x 45,5cm R2 500 – R3 500 P33 Paravano, Dino (South African 1935 - ) Landscape with river and trees Oil on board, signed 35,5 x 45,5cm R2 500 – R3 500 - 10 - P34 Harrs, Hannes (SA 1927 - 2006) Abstract compositions Lithograph, signed, edition 19/30 two works in the lot 42 x 31,5cm each R1 000 – R1 500 P35 Hinwood, Lionel (South African 1936 - 2012) In the clouds Oil on board, signed, 1979 119,5 x 120cm R2 500 – R3 500 P36 Gundersen, Eustace (SA 20th Century) Landscape Oil on board, signed, 44 x 59cm R1 000 – R1 500 P37 Boys, George (SA 1930 - ) Abstract composition black and red Mixed media on paper, signed 47 x 67,4cm R2 000 – R3 000 - 11 - P38 Gray, Loughridge (South African 20thC) Still life with roses Oil on board, signed 121 x 75cm R8 000 – R12 000 - 12 - P39 Tyrrell, Barbara Eleanor Harcourt (SA 1912 - ) Tribal dress Hand coloured prints, signed, five works in the lot 24 x 18cm each R1 500 – R2 500 P40 Amaler- Raviv, Arlene (South African 1953 - ) Wicker armchair Oil on canvas, signed 50 x 50cm R4 000 – R6 000 - 13 - P41 Desmond, Nerine (SA 1908 - 1993) Basutho ladies Oil on board, signed 49,5 x 39,5cm R40 000 – R60 000 - 14 - P42 Henkel, Irmin (SA 1921 - 1977) Still life flowers Oil on canvas, signed, 1975 44 x 54cm R60 000 – R80 000 - 15 - P43 Catherine, Norman Clive (SA 1949 - ) Thoughts of the day 4th March 1999 Oil on canvas, signed, 1999 55,5 x 64,5cm R70 000 – R80 000 The ways in which meaning is made from visual objects often means that they become diaries of their makers and begin to reflect the context of their production. This is reflected in the title of this painting Thoughts of the Day, 4th March 1999 making it clear that the artist is creating a kind of visual journal entry. Contextually the date may have a specific reference – it was the day that former president Nelson Mandela announced the 2000 elections, signalling his retirement from politics. Norman Catherine is well known for his socio-political commentary through cartoon-like doodles of anamorphic animals and humanoid figures. Here, he combines a number of scenes together in a kind of storyboard. The largest figure is the profile of a face in bold black lines, which forms a kind of a landscape: the hair atop his flat head resembling grass. A black sun and a winged Icarus figure float above this cliff face and a large arrow points down towards a menagerie of horned, spiked and snouted characters. On the right hand side of the canvas more complex scenes develop: a three-headed hyena walks on another flat-headed face, an anthropomorphic figure in a straight jacket has a “yes” and a “no” sign on either shoulder and a large blue shark-like figure watches from a reservoir as a small shark swims in someone’s bath. This complex array of symbols and references is almost dream-like: filled with bewilderment and perplexity. S V* References: 1. MCGREAL, C. 1999. Mandela Announces Election Date. The Guardian Thursday 4 March 1999. 2. FRIEDMAN, H. et al. 2000. Norman Catherine. Johannesburg: Goodman Gallery. - 16 - P44 Zeelie, Adelo Zagni (South African 1911 - 1991) Hout bay Oil on board, signed, 1961 90 x 120cm R15 000 – R20 000 - 17 - P45 Ullman, Ernest (South African 1900 - 1975 ) Washing ladies Johannesburg Oil on board, signed 30 x 22,2cm R5 000 – R8 000 P46 Battiss, Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Giles 4 jaar oud Watercolour, signed, 26-Jun-42, paper label on reverse with title from exhibition Pretoria art museum 22 x 17,5cm R8 000 – R10 000 - 18 - P47 Coetzer, Willem Hermanus (South African 1900 - 1983) Bushveld with village scene Oil on board, signed, 1946 19 x 36,5cm R18 000 – R24 000 - 19 - P48 Coetzer, Willem Hermanus (South African 1900 - 1983) Bushveld Oil on board, signed, 1948 19 x 36,5cm R18 000 – R24 000 - 20 - - 21 - P49 Mashile, Colbert (South African 1972 - ) Group of figures Oil on canvas, signed, 2004 97,5 x 97,5cm R20 000 – R30 000 In Group of Figures, Colbert Mashile brings together a crowd of strange and often phallic shapes – people standing with their backs to us. We are shown what they are looking at: a field of scribbled shapes and symbols, perhaps drawn on a blackboard, perhaps patterns in the night sky. At the age of 10, Mashile underwent traditional circumcision and uses his artistic practice to reflect on what he experienced as trauma and violence and many of his works refer back to these ritual ceremonies and practices. In this painting the figures seem to be wrapped in blankets, which directly suggests a circumcision ritual. The painting also features the symbol of the cowrie shell (on the far right hand side), which was used repeatedly by Mashile in this time period to signify an ancestral presence. Interestingly, the shell normally appears at the very top or bottom of the image but here becomes the head of one of the initiates. Additionally, this work is unique in that it makes quite a direct and illustrative reference to his subject matter, whereas other artworks tend to be much more metaphorical and emblematic. S V* Reference: SMITH, M. 2006. Artbio- Colbert Mashile. Artthrob Issue 105. [Online]. Available: http://www.artthrob.co.za/06may/artbio.html. Date accessed: 2013-02-09. - 22 - P50 Mason Attwood, Judith Seelawder (SA 1938 - ) Figure in landscape Oil on canvas, signed 91 x 121,5cm R45 000 – R55 000 - 23 - P51 Mayer, Ernst Karl (Erich) (SA 1876 - 1960) Herdsman with cattle street scene Pretoria Watercolour, signed 9 x 15,8cm R1 500 – R2 000 P52 Mayer, Ernst Karl (Erich) (SA 1876 - 1960) Landscape with cottages Watercolour, signed 9 x 15,8cm R1 500 – R2 000 P53 Strickland, Anthony (SA 1920 - ) Houses with figures and trees Oil on board, signed, small crack top left hand side 34,5 x 49,8cm R4 000 – R6 000 P54 P55 Wyllie, W L (20th Century) Broadley, Robert (SA 1908 - 1988) View of False Bay from St James Storm brewing over ocean Oil on canvas, signed, 1906 34 x 46,3cm R5 000 – R8 000 Oil on board, signed 26 x 33cm R5 000 – R6 000 - 24 - P56 Coetzer, Willem Hermanus (South African 1900 - 1983) Moonrise at sunset Bubye River, Dyers Camp Southern Rhodesia Oil on board, signed, 1962, titled on reverse 39,5 x 49,8cm R25 000 – R35 000 - 25 - P57 Battiss, Walter Whall ( SA 1906 - 1982 ) Redelinghuys, Albert (SA 1968 - ) Coetzee, Christo (SA 1929 - 2001) Spies, Chris (SA 20thC) Figures Mixed media on paper, signed, collaboration work, signed by all 44,5 x 58,3cm R20 000 – R30 000 - 26 - P58 McDorman, Donald (American 20th Century) Still life with bottle Oil on board, signed 45 x 26cm R2 000 – R3 000 P59 Boyley, Errol Stephen (SA 1918 - 2007) Landscape with trees Oil on board, signed 50 x 75cm R25 000 – R30 000 - 27 - P60 Pierneef, Jacob Hendrik (SA 1886 - 1957) Landscape with cottage and view over ocean Watercolour, signed 20 x 14cm R20 000 – R25 000 - 28 - P61 Boshoff, Adriaan Hendrik (SA 1935 - 2007) Herding the cattle Oil on board, signed 24,5 x 35cm R20 000 – R25 000 - 29 - P62 Battiss, Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Tails end Oil on canvas, signed, recto verso – figures and head 40,5 x 49,5cm R20 000 – R30 000 Verso - 30 - P63 Boshoff, Adriaan Hendrik (SA 1935 - 2007) Making calls – telephone booth Oil on board, signed 31 x 21cm R20 000 – R25 000 P64 Boshoff, Adriaan Hendrik (SA 1935 - 2007) Posting the mail Oil on board, signed 31 x 21cm R20 000 – R25 000 - 31 - P65 Bevington, William George William (South African 1881-1953) View of Table Bay and Lions head Oil on canvas, signed, 1991 40 x 55cm R3 000 – R5 000 P66 Battiss, Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Nude study Pencil sketch, signed, 23-Nov-42 39,5 x 29,5cm R8 000 – R12 000 P67 Douglas, Frank (1907-1975) Interior scene with sculpture Oil on board, signed 60 x 75cm R2 000 – R2 500 - 32 - P68 Zeelie, Adelo Zagni (SA 1911 - 1991) Malayan Kaap Oil on board, signed 44,4 x 59,5cm R3 500 – R4 500 P69 Vorster, Gordon Frank (SA 1924 - 1988) Buck in landscape Mixed media on paper, signed 53 x 72,5cm R5 000 – R7 000 P70 Squibb, Ruth Audrey (SA 1928 - ) Street scene Oil on board, signed 52 x 70cm R5 000 – R8 000 - 33 - P71 Kentridge, William Joseph (SA 1955 - ) Light to lens Etching, signed, edition 19/20 35,3 x 40cm R16 000 – R20 000 P72 Strickland, Anthony (SA 1920 - ) Mothers and children Oil on board, signed 34 x 49cm R4 000 – R6 000 - 34 - - 35 - P73 Sekoto, Gerard (South African 1913 - 1993) Township scene Gouache on paper, signed, 1971 37,7 x 56cm R70 000 – R80 000 Gerard Sekoto is internationally recognised for his use of social realism to depict urban scenes during apartheid. From 1947, Sekoto lived in self-imposed exile in Paris, leaving South Africa just before the Afrikaner Nationalist party came into power. Painting from memory, Sekoto’s vivid recollections of township life are filled with a sense of poignancy and the alienation of exile. In Women in the Village, Sekoto’s gentle brushstrokes render visible a street scene on the edge of a small community. Two women pass each other as they go about their days and a man on a bicycle climbs a small hill in the background. On the right side of the painting, the hint of rolling hills and open space gives a sense of the remoteness of the place, mirroring Sekoto’s own isolation and perhaps also suggesting the segregation that formed part of the apartheid system. The vivid, but demure colour palette and loose style also gives the painting a dream-like quality, as if the image was half-remembered and about to vanish altogether. This painting features in Barbara Lindop’s seminal book on the artist, which was published in 1988. S V* References: LINDOP, B. 1988. Gerard Sekoto. Randburg: Dictum Publishing. pp. 248. 2. MANGANYI, N.C. 1996. A Black Man Called Sekoto. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press. - 36 - P74 Kentridge, William Joseph (SA 1955 - ) What Will Come Exhibition poster, Goodman gallery 2007, signed, edition 36/250 52 x 79,5cm R3 000 – R5 000 P75 Goldblatt Sidney (SA 1919 - 1979) The Guitarist Mixed media, signed 40x 26,3cm R3 500 – R4 500 - 37 - P76 Coetzer, Willem Hermanus (South African 1900 - 1983) Winding road Sabi Transvaal Oil on board, signed, 1946, titled on reverse 28,5 x 39,3cm R20 000 – R30 000 - 38 - P77 Tugwell, Christopher (SA 1938 - ) Still life carnations in jar Oil on board, signed 72 x 59cm R10 000 – R15 000 P78 Schimmel, Fred (SA 1928 - 2009) Abstract composition Mixed media on paper, signed, 2005 75 x 58cm R8 000 – R12 000 - 39 - P79 Bosch, Cornelius (SA 1956 - 2011) Fruits of the earth Oil on canvas, signed 74 x 89cm R10 000 – R15 000 - 40 - - 41 - P80 Battiss, Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Shy girl Oil on canvas, signed, 1982, signed 155 60 x 50,4cm R60 000 – R80 000 Walter Battiss’s Shy Girl was painted in the year of his death. The focal point of the painting is the young girl referenced in the title, who sits exposed to the viewer, shielded only by her hands, which rest strategically in between her legs. Her embarrassment is illustrated with simple red dots of paint to the cheeks giving her already simplified face a vulnerable, doll-like quality. On the left of the painting is a large, female character whose nude body extends and elongates into a stack of bulbous shapes, she is totemic and otherworldly. In the background numerous roughly painted figures dance led by a main male character who is also naked. This late painting references Battiss’ early interest in rock art and San culture. Even the seemingly abstract brown and yellow shape on the right hand side of the work suggests a stereotypical San body type. Interestingly, this artwork is signed “155”, which the artist often used in the longer form of “Batt155”, using the likeness of the numerical digits to the letters “iss” in the end of the artist’s surname. In an undated self portrait, Battiss extends the wordplay to read “Alpha Batt 155” above which letters of the alphabet float, arranged as if in some sort of code. Battiss explored his interest in the creative potential of language in many of his artworks, including his extensive project Fook Island, for which he invented an entire language and alphabet. S V* Reference: VAN RENSBURG, W. 2008. Walter Battiss (1906 - 1982) 9 - 30 August 2008. Exhibition essay. Gallery AOP, Johannesburg. - 42 - P81 Desmond, Nerine (SA 1908 - 1993) Basutho riders Watercolour, signed 27,7 x 37,7cm R3 000 – R4 000 P82 Klar, Otto (SA 1908 - 1994) Abstract composition Watercolour, signed 11 x 18cm R4 000 – R5 000 - 43 - P83 Davies, Llewellyn (Zimbabwean, 1950) Reclining otter Bronze on wooden base, signed, edition 9/50. Bought from Johans Borman gallery and has certificate, height 23cm R7 000 – R10 000 - 44 - P84 Davies, Llewellyn (Zimbabwean, 1950) Kinship Bronze on wooden base, signed, edition 6/15. Bought from Johans Borman gallery and has certificate height 27cm R7 000 – R10 000 - 45 - P85 Coetzer, Willem Hermanus (South African 1900 - 1983) Temporary house of Baragwanath, New Leydsdorp Nothern Transvaal Oil on board, signed, 1943, titled on reverse and provenance Dennis Hotz Gallery on reverse 27 x 57cm R25 000 – R35 000 WH Coetzer, as the artist was most commonly referred to, produced impressionist style paintings of the South African landscape. His primary interest was the history and spirit of Afrikanerdom and in addition to doing extensive research into Afrikaans culture and collecting Africana, Coetzer also travelled the Voortrekker routes through the country by foot. Many of his paintings are in fact recreations of Voortrekker scenes and stories and he became an expert on the costumes and equipment of the period. In 1938, Coetzer designed the Great Trek Commemorative Postage Stamps. In this painting, Coetzer refers to the Baragwanath family, who arrived in 1850 in Port Natal on the immigration ship “Lady Bruce”. South African art historian, Esmé Berman interestingly notes that Coetzer’s landscape paintings were the most closely matched to his own temperament, associating his images of the mountainous countryside with a “grand concept”, a “historical saga” and a sense of “majestic drama” (1983:103). This painting typifies Berman’s suggestion: the landscape is a theatrical meeting of mountains, sea and sky, which sets a kind of stage around the small ‘temporary’ house and its residents. S V* References: 1. BERMAN, E. 1983. Art and Artists of South Africa. Cape Town: A.A.Balkema. pp. 102-103. 2. OGILVIE, G (ed.). 1988. Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors. Johannesburg: Everard Read. pp. 136-137. - 46 - P86 Abstract Bronze 40 x 20 x 10cm R2 000 – R3 000 P87 Frank Gehry Fish Bronze, sculpture designed exclusively for Condé Nast traveller by Frank Gehry 14 x 27 x 9cm R2 500 – R3 500 P88 Bosch, Essias (SA 1923 - 2010) Earthenware glazed bowl 41cm diam x 19cm height R4 000 – R6 000 - 47 - P89 Erri, Fleur (South African, 1926-2004) Cranes Oil on board, signed 120 x 100cm R15 000 – R20 000 - 48 - - 49 - P90 Mahlanghu, Speelman (South African, 1958-2004) The Spear Bronze, signed, edition 11/11 height 42,5cm R30 000 – R40 000 Speelman Mahlangu is the late nephew of well-known Ndebele mural artist Esther Mahlangu. Drawing on Ndebele culture, myths and visual traditions, the younger Mahlangu produced paintings, pots and relief murals, but is mostly recognised for his brooding sculptures in bronze. Mahlangu studied at the Katlehong Art Centre in the late 1970’s and had a continued involvement there until his untimely death. The Spear, which ironically shares its title with a controversial painting by Brett Murray, portrays a thin and elongated figure straddling a bull. The bull lies on its back, resigned, perhaps dead. Commonly, spears and bulls are symbols of power and wealth and yet in this sculpture the figure looks slightly forlorn, gazing up into the distance. Similarly, the overall scene that Mahlangu presents us with is not one of struggle and drama, which may be expected given the subject matter and title, but rather is intensely pensive and sober. It could be that Mahlangu is depicting a sacrifice scene, a bull offered up to an anxious figure’s ancestors. Conventionally, sculptures of this kind are so filled with potency and an almost aggressive energy, which makes The Spear all the more unique and unassuming. S V* References: 1. Esther Mahlangu. 2002. Press Release from 34 Long Gallery. [Online]. Available: http://www.vgallery.co.za/34long/em07_press/indx. htm. Date accessed: 2013-02-09. 2. Mahlangu. Artist Profile from Knight Galleries International. 2002. [Online]. Available: http://www.knightgalleries. net/artist/mahlangu. Date accessed: 2013-02-09. - 50 - P91 Hodgins, Robert Griffiths (SA 1920 - 2010) Directors meeting 2pm: old boardroom Oil on canvas, signed, 2005/06 35 x 100cm R130 000 – R180 000 Featuring on the solo exhibition of Hodgins’ work at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg in 2007, Director’s meeting: 2pm: Old boardroom depicts five men in large, almost overpowering, black suits, from their waists up. The frieze format gives the painting a sense of authority and orderliness, echoing the subject matter. The painting is split into three horizontal sections: the suits, which bleed into the background, the faces which float on a stark cream panel and the only hint at a background, a long brown stripe; perhaps a wooden dado rail. Hodgins is renowned for his use of luminous bright colours, but in this painting he contains the colours to punctuations of pinks and oranges in the faces of the five men. These odd shapes – the inside of a mouth, the outline of an ear, a large and bulbous nose – are acutely visceral and have a sense of fury and simultaneous vulnerability. Hodgins’ later paintings and prints are full of these kinds of ambiguities in corporate settings. As meditations on the patriarchal, capitalist and elitist world of big business, these works are pithy and unsettling, but also have a strong sense of wit and humour. S V* References: 1. SMITH, M. 2007. Robert Hodgins at Goodman Gallery. Artthrob Issue 116. [Online]. Available: http://www.artthrob.co.za/07apr/reviews/ goodman.html. Date accessed: 2013-02-09. 2. WILLIAMSON, S. 2008. Robert Hodgins at the Goodman Gallery Cape. Artthrob Issue 116. [Online]. Available: http://www.artthrob.co.za/08dec/reviews/goodmanc.html. Date accessed: 2013-02-09. - 51 - Detail - 52 - - 53 - P92 Goldblatt, David (South African 1930) Mrs Miriam Mazibuko watering her garden, Extension 8, Far East Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. 12 September 2006 Silver gelatine on fibre based paper, signed, 2006/12/09, edition 2/10 81 x 104cm R50 000 – R70 000 Documentary photography in South Africa is inextricably linked to the name David Goldblatt. Having photographed for about 60 years, and still actively producing new work, Goldblatt has created a prolific archive of images that elucidates the complex history of the country in a way that intimately communicates its particular struggles. More recently, Goldblatt has photographed the current socio-political mileu, exposing contemporary strife, anxiety and the aftermath of apartheid. Mrs Miriam Mazibuko watering her garden, Extension 8, Far East Alexandra Township, Johannesburg depicts a woman outside her newly constructed RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) house which only has one room. The photograph tells the story of Mrs Mazibuko, whose four children live with their grandparents because of the lack of space in her government-awarded house. Goldblatt’s composition of this photograph is almost painterly. In the far distance the headstones form one band of tiny rectangular shapes. In front of this a band of informal housing is cramped together in such a way that only the haphazard roofs are visible – a larger set of forms. The focal point of the photograph is a single rectangle – Mrs Mazibuko’s house – and the repetition of similar shapes, which increase, as they get closer to the foreground, creates a sense that they are progressive: people moving out of one box and into another until their final resting place in a box beneath the ground. S V* Reference: ENWEZOR, O. 2008. ‘The Indeterminate Structure of Things Now’. Bedeutung Magazine Issue 1: Nature & Culture. pp. 90 – 101. - 54 - - 55 - P93 Victor, Diane Veronicique (SA 1964 - ) Confessions of a bell boy Charcoal and pastel on paper, signed, 1992 238 x 107,8cm R25 000 – R35 000 Known for marrying a combination of intricate mark-making and difficult subject matter, Diane Victor’s highly charged and often controversial images have brought her international recognition. Working primarily in etching and other forms of printmaking, Victor sketches mostly from memory and often uses her own body and face in the scenes she creates. In this pre-1994 drawing, Victor depicts a fragmented and yet crowded set of symbols, figures and backgrounds in a limited colour palette. Two central seminude figures, a bell boy and a woman (Victor) embrace awkwardly, her hands preventing his confession and covering his genitals. The bell boy, wearing the top half of his uniform, has his hands held out as in a gesture of of openness and of vulnerability: he is perhaps an icon of baggage, a burdened history. On his right hand a cross, resembling a mark on a voting ballot, becomes a kind of stigmata, emphasized by his Christ-like pose. Beneath this central image a large rabbit sits atop what could be a ballot box in a pose that strongly resembles Albrecht Durer’s Hare of 1503. Symbolically, rabbits and hares have been associated with fertility, sexual desire and resurrection. The drawing is loaded with other symbolic references including a platter of fish, a pear, and a golden bell to name a few. In the background of the image a mass of delicately drawn plants converges into a domed building, which is most likely to be the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The image is separated into two planes by a gold strip of writing that is partially concealed by small panels of drawings. The Latin word morte meaning ‘death’ is perhaps the only part of the writing easily translatable. With this loaded array of references, symbols and fragments, Victor constructs an image that surely must reflect the context of South Africa in the time leading up to the first democratic elections of 1994. S V* Reference: RANKIN, E. & VON VEH, K. 2008. Taxi 013: Diane Victor. Johannesburg: David Krut Publishing. - 56 - - 57 - P94 Kentridge, William Joseph (SA 1955 - ) Untitled I Bronze, edition 1/14 with signed and editioned certificate 32 x 39 x 22cm R350 000 – R450 000 This sculpture is from Kentridge’s extensive project situated around a short story by Nikolai Gogol entitled The Nose and published in 1837. The narrative follows an egotistical Russian bureaucrat named Kovalyov who is somehow separated from his nose. The nose assumes Kovalyov’s identity and soon climbs the social ladder far beyond its ambitious owner. “I am not the horse. The horse is not mine,” which Kentridge uses as a central metaphor and starting point for much wordplay, is a Russian expression, which implies a lack of guilt and responsibility. In Untitled I, the large nose character sits rather triumphantly upon the horse with a strong sense of sturdiness. In a style typical of Kentridge’s more recent work, the horse is largely fragmented, which in the artist’s own words, illustrates the “fragility of coherence” (2009:86). The use of characters like Kovalyov is a key feature of Kentridge’s practice and in many ways this small sculpture encapsulates Gogol’s story while at the same time reflecting the contemporary socio-political context of South Africa. S V* Reference: SHAMAN, S. S. 2009. Review of William Kentridge’s ‘I am Not the Horse. The Horse is Not Mine’ at the Goodman Gallery and Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town. Art South Africa 7(3):86-87. - 58 - P95 Mabasa, Noria (South African, 1938) Legend of Hlopeka Wood, provenance Gallery 181 Johannesburg height 176cm; width 173cm; depth 145cm R250 000 – R350 000 Noria Mabasa was the first, and at this stage still the only, female Venda sculptor to become nationally and internationally recognised. Her primary subject matter captures the daily life around her and in many instances reflects the experience of apartheid through her own particular context and perspective, importantly giving voice to a woman’s point of view. This artwork, which is also titled The Legend of the Death of Hlopeka is an impressively large sculpture that swarms with figures, animals and combinations of the two. Each form of the sculpture is attached at some point and the middle section of the sculpture is hollow, creating a kind of vortex composition that is high in energy. The figures are mostly nude and their jaggedly carved forms and contorted gestures mirror the drama of the composition. Hlopeka is a Tsonga name, which means to be poor and/or to be suffering (Mabasa’s ex-husband was Tsonga, hence her Tsonga surname). In the context of apartheid South Africa this sculpture elucidates and embodies the struggle for freedom from suffering, which is why it formed a focal point of the Constitutional Court Art Collection for over three years. S V* References: 1. LEE, D. 2006. Noria Mabasa: Carving her Name in History. Middleburg: Awareness Publishing. 2. ARNOLD, M. & SCHMAHMANN, B. 2005. Chapter Nine: “Narratives of Migration in the Works of Noria Mabasa and Mmakgabo Sebidi”. Between Union and Liberation: Women Artists in South Africa 1910 – 1994. United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 174. - 59 - - 60 - P96 P97 Nitsch, Richard (German, 1866 - 1945) Nitsch, Richard (German, 1866 - 1945), Lady holding book and cane Lady holding grinder Oil on board, signed 17 x 13,3cm R2 000 – R3 000 Oil on board, signed 17 x 13,3cm R2 000 – R3 000 P98 Nitsch, Richard (German, 1866 - 1945) Lady holding book & lady holding joint of meat Oil on board, signed, two works in the lot 16,5 x 12,4cm each R2 000 – R3 000 - 61 - P99 Carter, Sydney (SA 1874 - 1975) Tree trunks Gouache, signed 21 x 27,5cm R1 500 – R2 500 P100 Battiss Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Floating goddess Lithograph, signed, Proof - some flocking on edge of paper - unframed 52 x 63,5cm R8 000 – R12 000 - 62 - P101 Bailey, Beezy (SA 1962 -) Spaceman’s cabaret Coloured drypoint etching, signed, 1995, E U 6/7 139 x 100cm R8 000 – R12 000 P102 Bailey, Beezy (SA 1962 -) The dead man spoke of many things Coloured drypoint etching, signed, 1996, E U 7/7 139 x 100cm R8 000 – R12 000 - 63 - P103 Dali, Salvador (Spanish 1904 - 1989) Les Floralies Set of fifteen etchings, signed, edition 75/350 35 x 25cm each R30 000 – R40 000 - 64 - P104 Botha, Hardy (SA 1947 - ) Nudes and horse Aquatint, signed, 1977, edition 27/50 21 x 20cm R500 – R800 P105 Carter, Sydney (South African 1874 - 1975) Still life with roses and lemons Oil on board, signed 40 x 24cm R6 000 – R9 000 - 65 - P106 P107 Parsons, Mike (SA 1941 - ) Papageorge, Georgie (SA, 1941) Bottled fruit Ngorongoro Crater Oil on canvas, signed 35 x 35cm R800 – R1 200 Mixed media on board with handpainted frame 42 x 42cm R1 000 – R2 000 P108 P109 Saoli, Winston (SA 1950 - 1995) Saoli, Winston (SA 1950 - 1995) Head Chicken Mixed media on paper, signed, 1975 36 x 51,5cm R1 000 – R1 500 Mixed media on paper, signed 49 x 65cm R1 000 – R1 500 - 66 - P110 Battiss, Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Liza Silkscreen, signed, edition 67,5 x 54,4cm - unframed 67,5 x 54,4cm R8 000 – R10 000 P111 Battiss, Walter Whall (SA 1906 - 1982) Hair Lithograph, signed 33,5 x 47cm R5 000 – R8 000 - 67 - P112 Coleman, Trevor (1936 - ) Shoppers Marrakesh Oil on canvas signed, 1999 91 x 122cm R7 000 – R10 000 P113 Page, Frederick Hutchison (Fred) (SA 1908 - 1977) The Mask Ink on paper, signed, 1969 21,3 x 53,5cm R7 000 – R10 000 - 68 - P114 Flint, William Russell Sir (British 1880 - 1969) Ladies in studio Colour print, signed 49,5 x 66cm R3 000 – R5 000 P115 Hinwood, Lionel (SA 1936 - 2012) Geometric composition Oil on board, signed, 1979 118,5 x 173cm R2 500 – R3 500 P116 Macdonald, Longford (British/South African 1905-1957) The road to the south Oil on board, signed, paper label with title on reverse, 49,8 x 60cm R4 000 – R6 000 - 69 - P117 Skotnes, Cecil Edwin Frans (SA 1926 - 2009) Three faces Mixed media on paper, signed 62 x 45cm R25 000 – R30 000 P118 Coleman, Trevor (1936 - ) Organics Mixed media on canvas, signed, 1964 122 x 153cm R8 000 – R12 000 - 70 - P119 Beck, Sidney (SA 1936 - ) Three men Pastel on paper, signed 72 x 49cm R1 000 – R1 500 P120n Coleman, Trevor (1936 - ) Fruit seller Mumbai Oil on canvas, signed, 2004 101,5 x 76,5cm R7 000 – R10 000 P121 Macala, Ben (South African 1938 - 1997 ) Two figures and donkey Mixed media on paper, signed 91 x 63cm R1 000 – R1 500 - 71 - P122 Stern, Rhona (South African 1940 - ) Bust of Louis Donnele Bronze, signed, 1956 34cm height R2 000 – R3 000 P123 Ampenberger, Iris (SA 1916 - 1981) Figure studies – The lesson Pen and ink, signed 32 x 28,7cm R1 000 – R1 500 P124 Mokgosi, Nat (Nathaniel) (SA 1946 - ) Two heads Charcoal, signed, 1970 35,5 x 25cm R1 000 – R1 500 - 72 - P125 De Jongh, Marthinus Johannes (Tinus) (SA 1885 - 1942) The old mill Ceres Coloured etching, signed, 21 x 28cm R1 200 – R1 800 P126 De Jongh, Marthinus Johannes (Tinus) (SA 1885 - 1942) Waterhof Kaapstad Coloured etching, signed 24 x 18cm R2 200 – R2 600 P127 Claerhout, Fr. Frans Martin (SA 1919 - 2006) Portraits Prints, signed 27 x 21cm each R1 000 – R1 500 - 73 - P128 Blampied, Clifford George (British, 1875) Lake scene Watercolour, signed 25 x 35,5cm R1 000 – R1 500 P129 Carter, Sydney (SA 1874 - 1975), Basuto lady Gouache, signed, 28,7 x 23,5cm R3 000 – R5 000 - 74 - - 75 - P130 Emmanuel, Paul (South African 1969) Untitled - Transitions Hand incised on exposed and processed photographic paper 70 x 70cm R10 000 – R15 000 Transitions is a series of painstakingly made images by Paul Emmanuel, which toured as a solo exhibition to venues including the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, as well as the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill in Johannesburg to name a few. The artist’s intention of the series was to explore transitory moments in (particularly South African) masculinity – infancy (circumcision), youth (military service), adulthood (marriage), and old age (a 90th birthday toast) – ritualized moments that arguably shape the male identity. The images in the series were combined as stills, with five in each set, the format itself evoking a transition and shift. Emmanuel, who was born in Zambia, works mainly in printmaking and photography and many of his artworks have a focused engagement with surface. The works from the Transition series, for instance, lie somewhere between drawings and photographs. In making them, Emmanuel worked directly from photographs, carefully copying the images onto photographic paper with a sharp blade. The result is an intricately detailed surface of crosshatched lines, which shimmer as if the photo-realistic scenes are about to change. The process of making these images was intensely laborious and time-consuming – it took Emmanuel three years to complete the artworks that were exhibited as part of the Transitions show. S V* Reference: LALLARA, P. 2011. ‘Paul Emmanuel’s Transitions: The White South African Male in Process’. Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art (2011)28:58-66. - 76 - P131 Hodnett, Noel (South African, 1949 - ) Landscape Oil on canvas, signed 35 x 55cm R10 000 – R13 000 P132 Catherine, Norman Clive (SA 1949 - ) Figure studies Khoki on paper, signed, 1986 42 x 49,5cm R2 000 – R3 000 - 77 - P133 De Waal Von Maltitz, Gerda (SA, 1911-2006) Abstract figures Watercolour, signed 34 x 50cm R1 000 – R1 500 P135 P136 Mashile, Colbert (South African 1972 - ) Mashile, Colbert (South African 1972 - ) Snake Two figures Watercolour, signed, 2012 50 x 35cm R5 000 – R7 000 Watercolour, signed, 2012 50 x 35cm R5 000 – R7 000 - 78 - P137 Maseko Joseph Ramapulane (Joe) (SA ) Township scene Mixed media on paper, signed 39 x 58cm R3 000 – R5 000 P138 Le Roux, Isabel (South African 1943 - ) Village scene Oil, signed, 1994 29 x 33cm R2 500 – R3 500 - 79 - P139 Victor, Diane Veronicique (SA 1964 - ) Ex libris Etching, signed, 2001, edition 5/10 15 x 9,8cm R1 000 – R2 000 P140 Gray, Doug (South African 1950 - ) Gemsbok and Wildebeest Oil on board, signed 120 x 90cm R2 500 – R3 500 P141 Kentridge, William Joseph (SA 1955 - ) Standard Bank National Arts poster 1999 Signed, edition 8/250 98 x 67cm R2 000 – R3 000 - 80 - Detail P143 Palmer, Alfred (South African, 1877 - 1951) Four oil on canvas panels for Manners Mansions Jeppe street Johannesburg 1937 Signed, unframed and needs restoration two works 5m62cm x 90cm & two works 4m15cm x 151cm R10 000 – R20 000 Alfred Palmer is perhaps best known for his large tempera tondo The Bathers, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1925. In the same year Palmer relocated from London to Durban, where he taught art and lived for 15 years. In this time he travelled through the rural areas of South Africa painting both the landscapes and the people he encountered. In 1937 Palmer was commissioned to paint the murals for the main entrance foyer of the newly built Art Deco skyscraper ‘Manners Mansions’ which is situated on the corner of Jeppe and Joubert Streets in the Johannesburg CBD. The four enormous paintings depict the city of Johannesburg before World War II; clearly industrial, with its iconic tall skyscrapers and signature mine dumps. What is striking, however, are the rolling hills and obviously rural space surrounding the city – space which today is filled with suburban housing and shopping malls. In one panel, groups of people interact on a grassy hill overlooking the relatively small city, which seems to be surrounded by a grove of trees. In another, the jagged edges of mine dumps clear in the centre to reveal a similarly harsh skyline beneath a typical Highveld sky. These important historical records, which are painted in Palmers typical fluid, painterly style, were fortunately saved by building contractors in 1981 when the Manners Mansions building was refurbished. S V* References: 1. LIEBENBERG-BARKHUIZEN, E. 2003. Mary Steinbank, Modernism and the ‘Spirit of Africa’. Unpublished seminar paper presented to the History and African Studies Seminar in the McIntyre Library. 2. YARKER, G. 2011. ‘Alfred Palmer’. The Dorset Magazine: Dorset Life. [Online] Available: http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/09/alfred-palmer/. Date accessed: 2013-02-07. - 82 - P144 Waite, Margaret Hebe “Maisie” (South African, 1907-1986) Landscape with trees Watercolour, signed 36 x 53,5cm R3 000 – R5 000 - 83 - P145 Eight lithographs from the portfolio Twenty South African Graphics including works by Braam Kruger, Lionel Abrams, Jan Redlinghuis 32 x 30cm each R1 500 – R2 500 - 84 - Credit *S V – Stacey Vorster is a part time lecturer in the Wits History of Art department as well as the curator of the Constitutional Court Art Collection. P92 David Goldblatt, Mrs Miriam Mazibuko watering her garden, Extension 8, Far East Alexandra Township, Johannesburg auctioneers www.rkauctioneers.co.za