Irma Stern’s 1946 still life, Gerard Sekoto’s Sophiatown scenes and works by William Kentridge lead Strauss & Co’s November auctions, with modern and contemporary South African art offered across two separate sales.
Strauss & Co, Johannesburg
Modern & Contemporary Art | Strauss & Co Day & Evening Sales
Tuesday, 17 November 2026
Strauss & Co presents two auctions of modern and contemporary art on 17 November, with a timed online Day Sale closing at 14:00, followed by a live virtual Evening Sale at 19:00. The auctions feature paintings, sculpture, works on paper and selected collectible objects, including works drawn from significant private and corporate collections.
Day Sale | Modern & Contemporary Art
Timed Online Auction | Closes Tuesday, 17 November 2026 at 14:00
The Day Sale offers 151 lots, ranging from paintings and works on paper to sculpture, ceramics and furniture.
Among the works are Peter Clarke’s Doing What We Have to Do, We Get on with Our Lives, Mary Sibande’s Sophie as an Aurora II and Georgina Gratrix’s Foliage. Penny Siopis is represented by Trouble, while Gerard Sekoto’s Women and Child and Street Scene with Figures offer examples of his figurative work.
The selection also includes ceramic pieces by Ruan Hoffmann and Andrew Mogridge, alongside furniture and sculptural objects. With estimates ranging across different price levels, the sale offers collectors access to a broad selection of South African art and design.
Online bidding opened on 23 October and closes on 17 November.
View Day Sale catalogue and register to bid
Evening Sale | Modern & Contemporary Art
Live Virtual Auction | Tuesday, 17 November 2026 at 19:00
The Evening Sale features 92 lots, led by Irma Stern’s 1946 painting Still Life with Strelitzias, a Songe Mask and a Songe Nkisi Figure, from the collection of novelist Wilbur Smith and his wife. The work carries a pre-sale estimate of R5.5–7.5 million and dates from the period following Stern’s travels to the Congo.
Other significant works include Gerard Sekoto’s Yard in Sophiatown, estimated at R2–3 million, and Alexis Preller’s Mapogga Temple from 1952, estimated at R3–5 million.
The sale draws on the Sanlam Art Collection, Valterra Platinum Collection and the collection of the late Advocate Ruth Kuper SC. Works include J.H. Pierneef’s studies for his Johannesburg Station panels, Erik Laubscher’s Summer Keurfontein and paintings by Maggie Laubser and Wolf Kibel.
Contemporary works include William Kentridge’s 1989 etching Casspirs Full of Love, alongside sculpture by Sydney Kumalo, Gerhard Marx and Edoardo Villa. The selection traces several decades of South African art through landscapes, portraits, political imagery and sculptural forms.
The auction will be conducted live virtually from Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg premises.
View Evening Sale catalogue and register to bid
Auction Preview | Strauss & Co Johannesburg
Works from the sales are available to view at Strauss & Co’s Houghton gallery. A public walkabout of the preview exhibition takes place on Sunday, 15 November at 11:00.
Day Sale closes | Tuesday, 17 November 2026 | 14:00
Evening Sale begins | Tuesday, 17 November 2026 | 19:00
Strauss & Co, 89 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg.
Images courtesy of Strauss & Co.
