Latest news with #892
eNCA
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- eNCA
"King of kitsch" Tretchikoff sells for new world record
JOHANNESBURG - Vladimir Tretchikoff's iconic painting "Lady from the Orient" has sold for more than $1.7m in a new world record for the Russia-born South African painter, a Johannesburg auction house said Wednesday. The 1955 portrait of a glamorous woman in a green and gold silk gown is among Tretchikoff's most recognisable pieces, reproduced the world over on items such as tablecloths to handbags. It sold to an anonymous telephone bidder late Tuesday for R31,892,000 (US$1,776,017), the Strauss & Co auction house said. The final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, "comfortably eclipses" the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work of £982,050 for "Chinese Girl" (1952) sold in London in 2013, it said in a statement. The painting of the daughter of a Cape Town grocer was a particular sensation in 1960s Britain and is among the most famous images produced by Tretchikoff, who moved to Cape Town in 1946 and died there in 2006. "It was sold as a reproduction in London from 1962 and it was the second-highest selling print in Britain in 1962 and a massive seller in 1963, '64, '65," senior art specialist at Strauss & Co, Alastair Meredith, told AFP ahead of the auction. Tretchikoff, whose stylised work -- including the famous "The Dying Swan" (1949) -- led some to call him "the king of kitsch", became wealthy through the reproductions and prints of his pieces. "Tretchikoff essentially authorised huge numbers of prints of his own paintings to be sold at very cheap prices in department stores and stationery shops all around the world," Meredith said. "Lady from the Orient" is "part of South Africa's cultural and visual makeup, part of our country's aesthetic history. But it's also a global icon," he said. Tretchikoff was born in what is now Kazakhstan, and was then Russia, in 1913. He fled with his family to China at the 1917 Russian revolution and grew up in Shanghai, before moving to Singapore and then South Africa.
Eyewitness News
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Eyewitness News
S.Africa's 'king of kitsch' Tretchikoff sells for new world record
JOHANNESBURG - Vladimir Tretchikoff's iconic painting "Lady from the Orient" has sold for more than $1.7m in a new world record for the Russia-born South African painter, a Johannesburg auction house said Wednesday. The 1955 portrait of a glamorous woman in a green and gold silk gown is among Tretchikoff's most recognisable pieces, reproduced the world over on items such as tablecloths to handbags. It sold to an anonymous telephone bidder late Tuesday for R31,892,000 (US$1,776,017), the Strauss & Co auction house said. The final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, "comfortably eclipses" the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work of £982,050 for "Chinese Girl" (1952) sold in London in 2013, it said in a statement. The painting of the daughter of a Cape Town grocer was a particular sensation in 1960s Britain and is among the most famous images produced by Tretchikoff, who moved to Cape Town in 1946 and died there in 2006. "It was sold as a reproduction in London from 1962 and it was the second-highest selling print in Britain in 1962 and a massive seller in 1963, '64, '65," senior art specialist at Strauss & Co, Alastair Meredith, told AFP ahead of the auction. Tretchikoff, whose stylised work - including the famous "The Dying Swan" (1949) - led some to call him "the king of kitsch", became wealthy through the reproductions and prints of his pieces. "Tretchikoff essentially authorised huge numbers of prints of his own paintings to be sold at very cheap prices in department stores and stationery shops all around the world," Meredith said. "Lady from the Orient" is "part of South Africa's cultural and visual makeup, part of our country's aesthetic history. But it's also a global icon," he said. Tretchikoff was born in what is now Kazakhstan, and was then Russia, in 1913. He fled with his family to China at the 1917 Russian revolution and grew up in Shanghai, before moving to Singapore and then South Africa.
France 24
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
S.Africa's 'king of kitsch' Tretchikoff sells for new world record
The 1955 portrait of a glamorous woman in a green and gold silk gown is among Tretchikoff's most recognisable pieces, reproduced the world over on items such as tablecloths to handbags. It sold to an anonymous telephone bidder late Tuesday for R31,892,000 (US$1,776,017), the Strauss & Co auction house said. The final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, "comfortably eclipses" the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work of £982,050 for "Chinese Girl" (1952) sold in London in 2013, it said in a statement. The painting of the daughter of a Cape Town grocer was a particular sensation in 1960s Britain and is among the most famous images produced by Tretchikoff, who moved to Cape Town in 1946 and died there in 2006. "It was sold as a reproduction in London from 1962 and it was the second-highest selling print in Britain in 1962 and a massive seller in 1963, '64, '65," senior art specialist at Strauss & Co, Alastair Meredith, told AFP ahead of the auction. Tretchikoff, whose stylised work -- including the famous "The Dying Swan" (1949) -- led some to call him "the king of kitsch", became wealthy through the reproductions and prints of his pieces. "Tretchikoff essentially authorised huge numbers of prints of his own paintings to be sold at very cheap prices in department stores and stationery shops all around the world," Meredith said. "Lady from the Orient" is "part of South Africa's cultural and visual makeup, part of our country's aesthetic history. But it's also a global icon," he said. Tretchikoff was born in what is now Kazakhstan, and was then Russia, in 1913. He fled with his family to China at the 1917 Russian revolution and grew up in Shanghai, before moving to Singapore and then South Africa.
TimesLIVE
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Stellantis names Antonio Filosa as its new CEO
Franco-Italian-US carmaker Stellantis on Wednesday named Antonio Filosa, the Italian head of its North American operations, as its new CEO, effective from June 23. Filosa, 51, will be expected to focus on the challenging task of reviving Stellantis' fortunes, specially in its key US market, after it suffered a 70% drop in net profit and a €6bn (R137,469,892,500) cash burn in 2024. "The board selected Antonio Filosa to be CEO based on his proven track record of hands-on success during his more than 25 years in the automotive industry", Stellantis said. Filosa will also need to rein in Stellantis sprawling 14-brand portfolio - with analysts and experts thinking the carmaker should terminate or sell some of them - and complete a process to restore the group's fraught relations with dealers, unions and governments. He succeeds Carlos Tavares, who quit the group in December after sharp drops in profits and sales raised questions about his management. Since then, the carmaker has been provisionally led by its chair John Elkann, a scion of the Agnelli family that founded Fiat, now part of Stellantis. The Agnellis are Stellantis' single largest investor through their family holding company Exor. The group's other brands include Peugeot and Jeep. Having exceeded €27 (R549) early last year, Stellantis's Milan-listed shares shed more than two thirds of their value in the next 12 months. Stellantis was created in early 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot's owner PSA, with Tavares, the former PSA head, as its first CEO. Filosa has been leading Stellantis in North America since October. In 2023 he was also appointed global head of Jeep, one of Stellantis key brands, a role he quit this year when, as part of a wider management reshuffle, he was also given the additional role of Stellantis global chief for quality. An Italian national, Filosa was born in the southern city of Naples, spent his youth in the region of Puglia in the south, and graduated in engineering from Milan's Polytechnic. Married to a Brazilian architect, he is the father of two sons and has a passion for water polo. He joined Fiat Group in 1999, where he covered several roles, predominantly in Latin America, becoming Fiat Chrysler chief in the region in 2018. He then served as Stellantis COO for South America. Despite his Fiat background and Italian nationality, he has hardly ever worked in Italy and can offer the global profile the Stellantis board had been looking for to address issues at the multinational carmaker. His recent years as head of Stellantis' North American business can also prove an asset in dealing with US President Donald Trump's administration and respond to its tariff policies.
TimesLIVE
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Stellantis names Antonio Filosa as its new CEO: source
Carmaker Stellantis has appointed Italian Antonio Filosa as its new CEO, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday. He succeeds Carlos Tavares, who quit the group in December after a sharp drop in profits and sales, specially in the US, raised questions about his management. Since then, the Franco-Italian-US carmaker has been provisionally led by its chair John Elkann, a scion of the Agnelli family that founded Fiat, now part of Stellantis. The Agnellis are Stellantis' single largest investor through their family holding company Exor. The group's other brands include Peugeot and Jeep. Filosa is expected to focus on the challenging task to revive fortunes after the carmaker suffered a 70% drop in net profit and a €6bn (R137,469,892,500) cash burn in 2024. Having exceeded €27 (R549) early last year, Stellantis shares shed more than two thirds of their value in the next 12 months. The new boss will also need to rein in Stellantis sprawling 14-brand portfolio, with analysts and experts thinking the carmaker should terminate or sell some of them, and complete a process to restore the group's fraught relations with dealers, unions and governments left by Tavares. Stellantis was created in early 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot's owner PSA, with Tavares, the former PSA head, as its first CEO. Filosa, aged 51, has been leading Stellantis in its key North American market since October with a task of reviving sales at the group's powerhouse, after its market share shrank in recent years.
