Aspire x Piasa- Contemporary African Art to Remember

Aspire x Piasa- Contemporary African Art to Remember

First French-South African auction partnership promises new world records on contemporary African art this Valentine’s day, February 14th

 

Pan African vision spanning 10,000 miles from Paris to Cape town set to shake up Africa’s art market

 

French flair and passion from Piasa combined with South African energy and local knowledge from Aspire promises to deliver an auction sale of Modern & Contemporary African Art to remember on February 14th at 3pm in Cape Town.

This collaboration is unprecedented and represents the first time an African and European auction house have partnered to present a sale of African art, in Africa, for a global audience.

The landmark auction: Modern and Contemporary African Art takes place on Friday, 14 February at OroAfrica House in Cape Town. The curated collection comprises 198 lots, featuring 139 artists representing 27 countries from Africa and the diaspora. While presenting a broader pan-African offering, it spotlights key collecting segments from 20th Century modernism to contemporary production and photography.

Christophe Person, of French auction house Piasa, says: “The South African market is one of the most dynamic on the continent. But until now collectors have been mostly focussed on local artists and less on art from other African countries. What is special about this new partnership between Aspire and Piasa is that it offers a pan-African vision of contemporary creation.” Ruarc Peffers of Aspire, adds: ”We are delighted to be working with Piasa who have made significant inroads into the Contemporary African Art Market in Europe. Creating both depth and breadth geographically is one of the real excitements of this joint initiative.”

Ever-increasing global interest in art from Africa is changing the art market. To meet the growing demand, Aspire has partnered with Paris-based house Piasa, to introduce an Africa-focused auction that presents some of the best examples of modern and contemporary art produced on this continent.

Headlining the collection, and the top lot by value, is J.H. Pierneef’s Baobabs with Soutpansberg in the distance, 1920 (R6–9million). Pierneef’s baobab paintings are extremely rare. Painted a century ago and never before seen on the market, this large, splendid painting, with impeccable provenance, will enhance any serious art collection.

Adorning the catalogue cover is a superb, early painting by internationally acclaimed Marlene Dumas, never before seen on the market. Oktober 1973 is only the third Dumas painting ever offered at auction in South Africa. Estimated at £160,000 – £260,000 (R3–5million), the work is set to attract significant interest.

An impressive variety of drawings and sculpture by William Kentridge leads the contemporary selection. Topped in value, Kentridge’s mixed media work Whilst Reaching Down (Slowly), 2013, £160,000 – £260,000 (R3–5million) is a series of drawings on dictionary paper which highlights the artist’s command of drawing, text and animation.

The auction introduces some of the most in-demand African artists on the market. A remarkable painting by Chéri Samba (Congo) titled Retour au Bercail, 1995, (R225,000 – 300,000), is the first work to be offered at auction in South Africa by this seminal painter.

Rarely exhibited in South Africa and making its inaugural local auction appearance, is an early 1980s photograph Every Mother’s Son / Children of Suffering (R70,000–90,000) by the late Nigerian/British photographer Rotimi Fani-Kayode. Legendary photographer David Goldblatt is represented with seminal images from his famous photobooks Some Afrikaners Photographed and TJ/Johannesburg Photographs, including the highly sought-after work; A railway shunter who dreamed of a garden without concrete or bricks, watered by this dam, Koksoord, Randfontein. 1962 (R250,000– 400,000). Aspire currently holds the world auction record for Goldblatt’s work and continues to dominate this market globally.

            PRESS INQUIRIES:

Julian Roup at [email protected]

Tel 07970563958 or Marelize van Zyl | +27 83 283 7427 | [email protected]t

VENUE

OroAfrica House, 170 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town

PUBLIC OPENING | VERNISSAGE

Tuesday, 11 February at 6 – 8:30 pm

PREVIEW DAYS

Wednesday 12 February
12 to 5 pm

Thursday 13 February
10 am to 5 pm

Friday 14 February
10 am to 3 pm

SALE ENQUIRIES:

Cape Town | +27 21 418 0765 | [email protected]

Johannesburg | +27 11 243 5243 | [email protected]

William Kentridge (South Africa, b.1955)

Whilst Reaching Down (Slowly), 2013

charcoal, pastel, red conté and screenprint on found Shorter Oxford English Dictionary pages

signed in red conté bottom right

120 x 160 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 3,000,000 – R 5,000,000

Abdoulaye Diarrassouba (Aboudia) (Cote D’Ivoire, b.1983)

Untitled, 2013

acrylic, pastel and collage on canvas

 

100 x 139 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 130,000 – R 160,000

 

 

Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef (South Africa, 1886-1957)

Baobabs with Soutpansberg in the distance, 1920

 

oil on board

signed and dated bottom left

70 x 98 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 6,000,000 – R 9,000,000

Marlene Dumas (South African, b.1953)

Oktober 1973, 1973

oil and water-based paint on canvas

inscribed with the title top right

183 x 121 cm

 

 

Estimate: R 3,000,000 – R 5,000,000

H&H Classics- Two Rare Survivors Up for Auction

H&H Classics- Two Rare Survivors Up for Auction

Rare survivors & rarity adds value:

Only AC 2-Litre Drophead Coupe left & one of just 50 Hillman Aero Minx’s.

Two cars coming to auction with H&H Classics on March 18 at Duxford, Imperial War Museum, prove the old adage: “rarity adds value, obscurity does not” says Damian Jones, Head of Sales at H&H Classics.

The first of this pair of survivors is a truly charming car in running order from a deceased estate, a family it has been with since 1978.

The early ‘March type’ bodied Aero Minx features full weather equipment in Double Duck material comprising a hood, side screens and hood cover and is fitted with a folding windscreen. It also has the original registration number and a comprehensive history file and 12v electrical system.

It has been with its present owner since 1978 and during that time it has undergone a major restoration programme which is evidenced by a photographic record and receipts. It is painted in green and has biscuit leather upholstery. It comes with the correct 1185cc four-cylinder petrol engine allied to four-speed manual transmission.

A comprehensive history file is present containing paperwork dating back to 1978 along with various V5 documents and a green logbook.

Tim Green from the Aero Minx Register has confirmed that this car “carries an early March body and appears be running 8 inch standard hubs rather than the later 10 inch versions and the engine capacity is 1185cc.”

 

1948 AC 2-Litre Drophead Coup

Sole roadworthy survivor of just 14 Drophead Coupes made

Reputedly the sole roadworthy survivor of just 14 Drophead Coupes made before the introduction of the Buckland model, the 4/5-seater has been extensively featured in Leo Archibald’s book on ‘AC Two Litre Saloons and Buckland Sports Cars’ – a copy of which is included in the history file alongside the original buff logbook.

Restored during the early 1990s and treated to further fettling including an engine overhaul in 2009 at a cost of some £18,000, this handsome drophead coupe is said to have been ‘used regularly but sparingly over the years’.

This stunning 1948 AC 2 Litre, 6-cylinder triple carburettor drophead is a 4/5-seater tourer was first registered in February 1949 in Burgundy with Beige hood and complimenting red leather interior. With its light aluminium body and straight-six engine fed by SU carburettors, the car is surprisingly nimble to handle.

The tourer was manufactured by AC Cars of Thames Ditton, Surrey, famous for the iconic AC Ace and AC Cobra of the 1960’s. The company goes back to 1901 when their first motor vehicle was produced. In 1919 the company started production of its own AC 2 litre engine which was developed and improved over the years and basically propelled the AC cars for over 40 years.

 

For more information about the Auction, please visit H&H Classics

 

Press Inquiries: Julian Roup ON +44 (0) 7970 563958 OR email [email protected]

Registration No: KLM 558

Chassis No: L990

MOT: Exempt

– Reputedly the sole roadworthy survivor of just 14 Drophead Coupes made before the introduction of the Buckland model

– Extensively featured in Leo Archibald’s book on ‘AC Two Litre Saloons and Buckland Sports Cars’ – a copy of which is included in the history file alongside the original buff logbook etc

– Restored during the early 1990s and treated to further fettling including an engine overhaul in 2009 at a cost of some £18,000

– A handsome 4/5-seater drophead coupe that is said to have been ‘used regularly but sparingly over the years’

 

Estimate: GBP£20,000 – GBP£25,000

Roseberys -L.S. Lowry, Cyril Power, & Peter Lanyon

Roseberys -L.S. Lowry, Cyril Power, & Peter Lanyon

LONDON: Desirable works by significant artists from the Modern British canon will be offered for sale at Roseberys London on February 11.

The 393-lot Modern & Contemporary British Art auction will include a comprehensive works on paper section giving bidders the opportunity to buy art for relatively low sums by leading artists like LS Lowry, Peter Lanyon and Frank Auerbach. The section includes studies and sketches for known paintings and prints such as the two by the Grosvenor School artist Cyril Power. In addition, the auction will contain oil paintings and sculpture made by a range of 20th century artists based in Britain including two market-fresh abstract paintings by Richard Smith and material from the studio of late sculptor Geoffrey Harris.

WORKS ON PAPER

The sale will give LS Lowry (1887-1976) collectors a rare opportunity to bid on a group of early drawings by the renowned northern industrial painter. Some of the five-lot group were completed under the tutelage of the French painter Adolphe Valette, as indicated by the artist’s careful inscription ‘av’, and a notation of how long the drawings took to complete. Their authenticity has been confirmed by Martin Summers, former Managing Director of the Lefevre Gallery, the dealership that held Lowry’s first one-man show in London and continued to represent the artist until his death. Prices range from £8,000 to £20,000. [Lot 102-106]

A watercolour of an Italian landscape by the St Ives artist Peter Lanyon (1918-1964), painted during the Second World War while he was serving as a flight mechanic with the Royal Air Force, carries hopes of £1,800-2,400. Lanyon was 25 when he first went to Italy in December 1943. He stayed for two years, in which time he learned Italian and travelled the southern provinces, drawing, painting and taking photographs. Italian landscape with houses has passed by descent from a private collection in St. Ives. [Lot 76]

Primrose Hill, the small park in north London whose paths culminate at a high point with a fine view over the city, has been the local green spot for German-British painter Frank Auerbach (b.1931) since the 1950s when he moved to his nearby studio in Camden. A 1960 study of the park in pencil and oil paint is on offer at £2,500-3,500. It has auction pedigree and was featured in Sotheby’s £2.7m auction of art from David Sylvester, Britain’s greatest post-war critic and curator of modern art. [Lot 91]

A widely exhibited oil painting of mackerel by the Camden Town Group painter Walter Sickert (1860-1942) carries hopes of £6,000-8,000. The signed still life was painted in Dieppe at the turn of the 20th century, before Sickert left for Venice in 1903. The artist became involved with Madame Villain, a divorced fishwife in Dieppe, who acted as both landlady and mistress to the artist. It was presumably from Villain that Sickert obtained the fish for this, and other still-life paintings of the period. [Lot 2]

 

SCULPTURE

Among Michael Ayrton’s (1921-75) chief inspirations was the myth of the ancient Greek craftsman Daedalus, who famously fashioned wings for his son Icarus. ‘At the apex of his climb, because mass is modified by its velocity, Icarus changed his form and the anatomy of this transformation obsesses me’, wrote Ayrton in 1961.  Icarus Transformed I, a twisted figural form in bronze from this period, is estimated at £3,000-5,000.  [Lot 188]

The sale contains a 12-lot collection of sculpture and archival material from the studio of the late sculptor Geoffrey Harris (1928-2019), who worked as a studio assistant for Henry Moore.

Harris was born in Nottingham in 1928 and studied at Leeds College of Art and the Royal College of Art.  He worked as an assistant for Leon Underwood, David John, and William Bloye and lectured at several art colleges including Birmingham, Stourbridge, Bromley, and Ravensbourne.  However, he is perhaps best known for, and his work most influenced by, his period working as a studio assistant for Moore from 1957-1960.  Harris had solo exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries and the Queen’s Square Gallery in 1964.

The collection comprises a series of Portland stone sculptures from the 1960s and 70s, a handful of bronze maquettes and a significant collection of photographic prints and negatives of the artist’s works.  Prices range from £200 to £1,000.  [Lot 169-180]

 

Modern & Contemporary British Art

Tuesday 11 February, 11am

 

Viewing times

Friday 7 February 9:30am-5:30pm

Sunday 9 February 10am-2pm

Monday 10 February 9:30am-5:30pm

Tuesday 11 February 9.30am-10.30am

~Ends~

 

For further information please contact Peigi Mackillop [email protected]

+44 (0) 20 8761 2522

 

Laurence Stephen Lowry RA RBA (British, 1887-1976)

Study of a Female Head

sanguine on buff paper

21 x 8.5 cm

accompanied by a signed statement by Martin Summers, former Managing Director of the Lefevre Gallery, London, confirming the authenticity of the work.

 

 

Estimate: GBP£8,000 – GBP£12,000

H&H Classics- RAF Motorbike Sold for Charity

H&H Classics- RAF Motorbike Sold for Charity

One hundred per cent of funds from the sale of this 1930 Norton CS1 will go towards the purchase of the Old URC Church in Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, built by a distant relation of the bike’s owner, former RAF pilot, Bill Southcombe.

The whole community is doing its bit to seal the deal on saving the church which plays host to a number of community projects. The bike will be sold at auction by H&H Classics on April 7th at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. It is estimated to sell for £25,000 to £27,000.

Bill Southcombe explains why his bike has come to be sold to save the church. “If we fail to buy the church it will be auctioned by the Synod, to developers probably, or left to decay.” As a Trustee of the charity set up to save the church he has already donated the value of two other of his bikes.

“It’s a Congregational Church built by my ancestor, Richard Southcombe, for the community in 1866. It is 2* listed and in very good condition and was given to the URC Synod in 2016 by the Elders. If we are to save it we must pay the Synod this year, 2020”

Hamdon Community Arts  Project (HCAP) has been founded to buy back the building for £100,000, half its market price, as a community sale. HCAP is registered as a Charity. Currently the church  houses  a playgroup founded in 1974, a local band founded 1945 and a charity shop. The church has an exquisite 900 pipe organ donated by Julia Southcombe in 1875 which is still in perfect condition. HCAP organises plays, recitals, music competitions, and the performance of Handel’s Messiah.

The Business Plan for HCAP has earned  Parish and Somerset County Council support. Besides the £100,000 needed to secure the church a further £100,000 is needed to convert it.

Bill Southcombe joined RAF as a navigator in 1961 and flew three tours with the Vulcan B2 BS at Scampton (83 Sqn), Cottesmore (9Sqn) and Akrotiri Cyprus. He won Strike Command Bombing Competition, beating USAF B52 and F111s in 1970. Posted to Phantom FGR2 at Coningsby(6 Sqn). Night ground attack and deployment.

Detached to Akrotiri in  1974 with 6 Sqn to keep peace after invasion of Cyprus by Turkey. Posted to RAF Germany on 14 Sqn, then to Leuchars (43Sqn) on Phantom FG1 on Quick Reaction Alert, intercepting Russian bombers in UK air space.

Represented RAF Motor Sports Association in IOM MGP and TTs 1965-1968.

Mike Davis of H&H Classics, says: “Bill Southcombe’s 1930 Norton is one of the very first Arthur Carol designed CS1 Norton’s to have been made. It left the Norton works on the 20th of December 1930, sold to Mr H G Turner (possibly for racing) as it was not registered for road use until 1934.

With its three-brace frame only used in 1930/1 for CS1’s, left hand exhaust port, fitted with factory four speed sturmey archer gearbox (Daytona ratios) it still retains its original high lift cams 76 1-1/6. Purchased in approximately 1969 in a dismantled state by the current vender, the machine was untouched and kept in boxes due to moving around the country for RAF duties. Restoration started in 2003 on his retirement.  The engine was restored by well-known Brooklands tuner Francis Beart’s mechanic Keith Manning. There is a large file with various photos, documents for work carried out on the bike.”

Press Enquiries:

Julian Roup, [email protected], 07970 563958

Freeman’s – Morisot, Van Gogh and Degas

Freeman’s – Morisot, Van Gogh and Degas

On February 18th, Freeman’s will hold its inaugural auction of European Art and Old Masters at its brand new 2400 Market Street location. The tightly-curated 50-lot sale will showcase Continental and British works spanning from the 16thto the early 20thcentury. A variety of mediums will be featured, including early prints and works on paper, paintings, and sculpture – some being important rediscoveries by celebrated artists such asNiccolò Codazzi (1642-1693), women artists Giovanna Garzoni(1600-1670) and Emilie Preyer (1849-1930), Max Liebermann(1847-1935), Armand Guillaumin(French, 1841-1927) and Montague Dawson(British, 1890-1973).

THREE IMPRESSIONIST HIGHLIGHTS

One of the highlights of the sale will beBerthe Morisot’sApollon Révélant sa Divinité à la Bergère Issé(after François Boucher)(Lot 37; $150,000-250,000) – a striking late work completed in the fall of 1892. The painting is one of two paintings that Morisot copied after François Boucher, an 18thcentury artist she particularly revered and studied. So distinctly Rococo in theme and technique, the present work made an impression on Claude Monet, who insisted on including it in the artist’s retrospective show in 1896. It later inspired his famous Nymphéasseries. This painting remained in the Morisot family’s collection until it was purchased by the present owner from the artist’s grandson, giving it impeccable provenance.

Also on offer will beBald-Headed Orphan Man, Facing RightbyVincent van Gogh(Lot 32; $120,000-180,000). Completed in The Hague in January 1883, the charcoal drawing follows the artist’s move from his hometown in Etten – an important moment in the artist’s creative development.  It depicts Adrianus Jacobus Zuyderland, a 72 year-old pensioner of an almshouse who would become van Gogh’s most frequently used model. Here, Vincent captures a certain sense of pride in the downtrodden old man, perhaps revealing a sense of his own calm defiance. Other, less posed, versions of the orphan man can be found in the collection of prestigious museums, including the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

A fresh-to-market bronze by Edgar Degasentitled Grand Arabesque, Deuxième Temps(Lot 48; $120,000-180,000) will also be featured in the sale. Purchased from Alex Maguy Gallery in 1966 by the grandparents of the present owner, the sculpture has never been seen at auction before, remaining in the same family’s collection until the present date. The work presents a carefully modeled dancer in arabesque, one of ballet’s most challenging poses. As Degas preferred to work in clay and all his bronze castings are posthumous, the present work is an interesting piece showcasing the artist’s ability to capture all the strength and delicacy of the ballerina’s pose in a three-dimensional work.The sculpture will be exhibited in London alongside the Berthe Morisot oil and the van Gogh drawing between January 27 and 30, 2020.

IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPES

The sale will also showcase numerous attractive 19th century landscapes, including an unusually-large Venetian vista by Rubens Santoro(Italian, 1859-1942), which depicts Saint Mark’s Basilica in the distance (Lot 35; $50,000-80,000) as well as two Dutch scenes by Willem Koekkoek(Dutch, 1839-1895) (Lot 26; $50,000-80,000 and Lot 27 $25,000-40,000). Other landscape paintings of international repute will include an impressive landscape by Danish artist Peder Mørk Mønsted(1859–1941) (Lot 38; $20,000-30,000) and a newly unearthed painting of a chapel in Valdai County by Russian Symbolist painter Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich(1874-1947) (Lot 39; $30,000-50,000).

A STRONG SECTION OF OLD MASTERS

Along with 19th century works, Old Master paintings will be well-represented through  a rare and iconic woodcut of The Rhinoceros(Lot 1; $12,000-18,000) by Albrecht Dürer(German, 1471-1528) , a striking copy of a lost devotional piece by an artist in the circle of Quentin Massys the Elder(Dutch, 1466-1530) (Lot 4; $40,000-60,000) and a bountiful still life by David de Coninck(Flemish, 1644-1701) featuring jewel-toned fruits, animals, and architectural elements in an extensive landscape (Lot 8; $20,000-30,000).

2400 MARKET STREET

This month, Freeman’s opened its new flagship location in Center City’s prestigious 2400 Market Street. Featuring a purpose-built gallery and auction room with corporate offices above, Freeman’s is excited to be a part of the 600,000 square-foot development that has been recently hailed as one of the biggest and most visible mixed-use projects in Philadelphia. This move to new, custom-designed headquarters is a key component in the company’s contemporary business model and will further establish it as a leading and dynamic 21st century auction house. In their new location, Freeman’s is ideally positioned to meet the growing demand for global service, while continuing to be ingrained within the heart of the city that we have called home since 1805.

 

SPECIALIST

David Weiss | Senior Vice President | Head of Department

[email protected]| 267-414-1214

Press Inquiries:

Madeline Hill, [email protected], +1 267.414.1201