Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Auctions
news

Surfacing on the market: painting with a political past

Bonhams, London, the South African Sale, 9 September

Francesca Price
31 August 2015
Share

A historically significant painting by the prominent South African artist Irma Stern was being used as a notice board when it was rediscovered in a London flat. Arab in Black (1939) was sold in the early 1960s by Betty Suzman, the sister-in-law of the anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman, to help cover the legal costs of Nelson Mandela and his 155 co-defendants on trial for high treason. Stern also donated a work to benefit the Treason Trial Defence Fund, though she worried that offering more would attract attention from the authorities. “I was undertaking a routine valuation when I spotted this masterpiece hanging in the kitchen covered in letters, postcards and bills,” said Hannah O’Leary, the head of South African Art at Bonhams. “It was a hugely exciting find even before I learned of its political significance.” The work is expected to sell for between £700,000 and £1m.

AuctionsArt marketSurfacing on the market
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

News
31 August 2016

Leading lady Irma Stern heads Bonhams sale

Anna Brady
Restitutionnews
3 July 2024

Jordaens painting to be sold after settlement with heirs of Jewish bank shareholders

The work, to be auctioned at Sotheby’s today, was one of more than 2,500 held as collateral and sold, shortly before the Nazi invasion, by the Dutch bank Lisser & Rosenkranz

Catherine Hickley
African art marketcomment
23 April 2021

Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu’s greatest work is much loved by the art market—but it should mean more to art history too

Editions of the Anyanwu sculpture always attract attention at auction, but the legacy of the work and its maker are largely ignored both in his home country and the international art scene

Ayodeji Rotinwa
Auctionsnews
31 March 2017

Asian clients drive strong sales at auction houses

“The market is back,” says Christie’s head—but pressure to secure top property is “huge”

By Anny Shaw and Ermanno Rivetti