4th Mar, 2021 19:00
Modern & Contemporary Art
43
Gerard Sekoto (South Africa 1913-1993)
Man at a desk
gouache on paper|
Artwork date: 1945
Signature details: signed bottom left
Exhibited: Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, Gerard Sekoto: Unreserved ties, 1 November 1989 to 10 February 1990.
Literature: Spiro, L. (1989). Gerard Sekoto: Unreserved ties. Johannesburg: Johannesburg Art Gallery, illustrated in colour on p.80.
Sold for R342,090
Estimated at R300,000 - R400,000
gouache on paper|
Artwork date: 1945
Signature details: signed bottom left
Exhibited: Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, Gerard Sekoto: Unreserved ties, 1 November 1989 to 10 February 1990.
Literature: Spiro, L. (1989). Gerard Sekoto: Unreserved ties. Johannesburg: Johannesburg Art Gallery, illustrated in colour on p.80.
(1)
71 x 54 cm; Framed Size: 103 x 118 x 6 cm
Private Collection, Johannebsurg.
Notes:
For those familiar with modernity’s emergence in the canon of art history, this intimate portrayal by Gerard Sekoto of a man at his desk carries notable compositional similarities to post-impressionist Vincent Van Gogh’s The Bedroom (also affectionately known as Bedroom in Arles) from 1888.Sekoto himself had been shown copies of the great Dutch painter’s works in the 1930s whilst teaching at the Khaiso Secondary School. His colleague, the artist Ernest Mancoba, much admired the works and used them as a comparison for the struggle that both Mancoba and Sekoto faced as black artists in a segregated South Africa.Van Gogh’s bedroom in bright, contrasting colours was created (along with a series of works of the same theme) shortly after the artist’s arrival in Arles in the South of France. Sekoto, in comparison, painted this more subdued interior scene upon his arrival in Eastwood, Pretoria, where he resided with his mother and stepfather in the years prior to his self-exile to Paris.Unbeknownst to Sekoto, just years after his depiction of this humble bedroom in Eastwood, the suburb would fall victim to forced removals, and its population relocated – along with the communities of Sophiatown – to the Ga-Rankuwa township. This private view and sincere depiction of a man quietly working at his desk, gives unique representation to, and intimate insight into a since uprooted community.Today, Pretoria acts as a symbol of South Africa’s democracy, and Eastwood is a suburb populated by embassies and ambassadors—situated less than a kilometre from the Union Buildings, where in 1994 South Africa’s first democratically elected leader Nelson Mandela was inaugurated.
Lisa Truter
You can place an absentee bid through our website - please sign in to your account on our website to proceed.
In the My Account tab you can also enter telephone bids, or email bids@aspireart.net to log telephone/absentee bids.
Join us on the day of the auction to follow and bid in real-time.
The auction will be live-streamed with an audio-visual feed.
Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art, 4th Mar, 2021
Aspire Art Auctions’ Cape Town sale proved that the market for African and international art continues to thrive despite the pandemic.
The top lot by value was Irma Stern’s Dahlias and fruit, one of the most outstanding paintings from her late period, which achieved an impressive R5,234,800. Marlene Dumas scored a sensational hit when her early painting, Score, sold for R3,414,000, and stellar results were also achieved for celebrated artists; William Kentridge, George Pemba, Gerard Sekoto and Peter Clarke, amongst others, with world records at auction set for contemporary artists Turiya Magadlela and Gerhard Marx.
HIGHLIGHTS
Currency conversions are based on the exchange rate at the auction's start time and date. Bidders should verify the current exchange rate on the day of the sale. All invoices and payments must be made in South African Rands.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.
Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:
Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440
Over-size: Special quote
Should artwork(s) be collected or delivered to/from Clients by Aspire Art directly, the following charges will apply:
Collection/delivery ≤20km: R400
Collection/delivery 20km>R800≤50km
Collection/delivery >50km: Special quote
Packaging
A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.
International Collectors Shipping Package
For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.
For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.
Aspire Art will arrange suitable storage during, and cost-effective shipping at the end, of the annual period.
Collections
Collections are by appointment, with 24-hours’ notice
Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.
Handling Fee
Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.