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The South African
3 days ago
- Business
- The South African
WATCH as Vladimir Tretchikoff painting smashes world auction record
Strauss & Co set a new world record for Russia-born South African painter Vladimir Tretchikoff with the sale of his 1955 portrait Lady from the Orient for R31 110 000 ($1 731 845 / £1 283 432). The iconic painting was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder after a dramatic flurry of 89 bids, narrowly beating a determined in-room contender at the live auction in Johannesburg. The final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, comfortably eclipses the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work, set at £982 050 in March 2013 at a London auction for Chinese Girl (1952). 'It is always good when there is a murmur before a big lot,' said auctioneer Alastair Meredith as he introduced Lady from the Orient . Bidding opened briskly and quickly escalated. 'We've breached the $1 million mark,' he remarked after accepting a bid of R18 million. The excitement mounted. 'The next bid is R25.2 million, which is something I have never said,' he shortly added. It took nine more bids before the painting found its new owner at new world record price. Cue flurry of applause. Lady from the Orient depicts 21-year-old Valerie Howe, daughter of a Cape Town grocer, and is one of Tretchikoff's most recognisable works. Drawing inspiration from Pre-Raphaelite painting and Golden Age Hollywood glamour, the portrait features Howe in a vivid green silk gown rendered in Vladimir Tretchikoff's signature Technicolor palette. The work belongs to a small group of iconic images produced by the artist during the decade following his move to South Africa in 1946. A print edition of Lady from the Orient became a popular sensation in 1960s Britain. The auction delivered strong results for William Kentridge, George Pemba, JH Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto and Anton van Wouw, affirming robust interest in a cross-section of South African art. The 100-lot sale of modern and contemporary art earned a combined total of over R62.9 million. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
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.
The South African
28-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
Vladimir Tretchikoff painting smashes world auction record in Johannesburg
Strauss & Co, Africa's leading auction house, set a new world record for Russia-born South African painter Vladimir Tretchikoff on Tuesday night with the sale of his 1955 portrait Lady from the Orient for R31 110 000 ($1 731 845 / £1 283 432). The iconic painting was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder after a dramatic flurry of 89 bids, narrowly beating a determined in-room contender at the live auction in Johannesburg. The final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, comfortably eclipses the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work, set at £982 050 in March 2013 at a London auction for Chinese Girl (1952). 'It is always good when there is a murmur before a big lot,' said auctioneer Alastair Meredith as he introduced Lady from the Orient . Bidding opened briskly and quickly escalated. 'We've breached the $1 million mark,' he remarked after accepting a bid of R18 million. The excitement mounted. 'The next bid is R25.2 million, which is something I have never said,' he shortly added. It took nine more bids before the painting found its new owner at new world record price. Cue flurry of applause. Lady from the Orient depicts 21-year-old Valerie Howe, daughter of a Cape Town grocer, and is one of Tretchikoff's most recognisable works. Drawing inspiration from Pre-Raphaelite painting and Golden Age Hollywood glamour, the portrait features Howe in a vivid green silk gown rendered in Tretchikoff's signature Technicolor palette. The work belongs to a small group of iconic images produced by the artist during the decade following his move to South Africa in 1946. A print edition of Lady from the Orient became a popular sensation in 1960s Britain. The auction delivered strong results for William Kentridge, George Pemba, JH Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto and Anton van Wouw, affirming robust interest in a cross-section of South African art. The 100-lot sale of modern and contemporary art earned a combined total of over R62.9 million. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
