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Cape Town – Irma Stern's oil painting, Gladioli, painted in 1939, has caused a sensation when it was sold for a record amount of R13.368m.
The painting (99cmx93cm) was auctioned off on Monday by Stephan Welz from Strauss and Kie in front of an enthusiastic audience of more than 400 at The Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town.
Welz said the price was a record for a South African art work, which clearly shows there is much investment confidence in local art.
The art and antique auction, which saw several unusually high prices, earned R43.46m.
The previous Stern painting that fetched a record price for South African art, was a similar still life in oil, also by the name of Gladioli, which was sold in May in Johannesburg for R7.575m.
Bidders became excited when Jacob Hendrik Pierneef's painting, Koringlande Agter Paarl, was auctioned for R4 678 800.
Bids for Stern's Gladioli started at R3m.
The price shot up until only two bidders remained. The winning bid was R12m. The auction commission pushed the price up even more.
The identity of the new owner was not known, but it appeared to be a local collector.
Two of Maggie Laubser's oil paintings, Flamingoes on the Beach and Landscape with White Stork, were sold for R2 673 600 and R1 782 400.
The highest price for a contemporary art work, R2.45m, was paid for Stanly Pinker's painting, The Wheel of Life.
Another two Sterns, Yachts and House and Figure on a Beach, fetched R2 673 600 and R1 448 299.
The painting (99cmx93cm) was auctioned off on Monday by Stephan Welz from Strauss and Kie in front of an enthusiastic audience of more than 400 at The Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town.
Welz said the price was a record for a South African art work, which clearly shows there is much investment confidence in local art.
The art and antique auction, which saw several unusually high prices, earned R43.46m.
The previous Stern painting that fetched a record price for South African art, was a similar still life in oil, also by the name of Gladioli, which was sold in May in Johannesburg for R7.575m.
Bidders became excited when Jacob Hendrik Pierneef's painting, Koringlande Agter Paarl, was auctioned for R4 678 800.
Bids for Stern's Gladioli started at R3m.
The price shot up until only two bidders remained. The winning bid was R12m. The auction commission pushed the price up even more.
The identity of the new owner was not known, but it appeared to be a local collector.
Two of Maggie Laubser's oil paintings, Flamingoes on the Beach and Landscape with White Stork, were sold for R2 673 600 and R1 782 400.
The highest price for a contemporary art work, R2.45m, was paid for Stanly Pinker's painting, The Wheel of Life.
Another two Sterns, Yachts and House and Figure on a Beach, fetched R2 673 600 and R1 448 299.
