17th Jun, 2018 18:00

Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art

 
Lot 10
 
Lot 10 - Cecil Skotnes (South Africa 1926-2009)

10

Cecil Skotnes (South Africa 1926-2009)
African figures

carved, incised and painted wood panel

Artwork date: circa 1965
Signature details: signed

Sold for R227,600
Estimated at R200,000 - R300,000


Condition Report

Slightly dry, three vertical cracks along wood grain in keeping with age, very minor abrasions.

Please note, we are not qualified conservators and these reports give our opinion as to the general condition of the works. We advise that bidders view the lots in person to satisfy themselves with the condition of prospective purchases.

 

carved, incised and painted wood panel

Artwork date: circa 1965
Signature details: signed

(1)

63.5 x 50 cm

Notes:

The life and artistic practice of Cecil Skotnes was deeply entrenched in Africa. His experience of teaching at the Polly Street school in the heart of Soweto was one that allowed him to see past the blinkered view of white life under apartheid, and exposed him to the day to day issues of township life. For his part, Skotnes brought to the Polly Street school a vision of artfrom Europe – one where art was a lived experience integrated into everyday life. The kind of figures and styles that became iconic in Skotnes’ works were born from an eye not focused on Europe but a vision that showed a deep understanding of African art forms; a visceral consciousness seen in the highly conceptualised portraits and depictions of people – their emotional states moulded into a new form. This panel, African figures, is signed with a very small, precise signature – seldom seen beyond the period where Skotnes and Egon Guenther were breaking the mould and challenging a Eurocentric South African art community with the formation of the Amadlozi Group. Amadlozi, meaning ‘spirit of our ancestors’, was selected as a name to signal the group’s interest in an African identity, exemplified by Skotnes’ iconic depictions of Shaka. The precision of Skotnes’ forms is remarkable in the 1960s and is reflected in the prints he made in collaboration with Guenther.

The print block became liberated into its own form – an artwork in itself. The delicate fine lines that are almost unimaginably difficult in this technique show a mastery that is synonymous with their collaborative works during this period. African figures was in all likelihood made in the mid-1960s and demonstrates the style, execution and subtle, muted earthy palette of many of the works produced under Guenther’s influence. It is strikingly similar in palette and execution to another work known as African figures, from 1965, which has to date fetched the highest price for a work by Skotnes at auction. In the many hundreds of works in his oeuvre it is rare to find a work with this degree of finesse. It may be compared to the important later work, The Legend of the Judean War (1984), in this work Skotnes adopted a more definitively carved, tougher form – albeit with a more vibrant colour palette. Here one sees an almost brutalist consciousness which is very different from the early work.

Mary-Jane Darroll

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: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 17th Jun, 2018

In a slow and unresponsive market, amid tight economic conditions generally in South Africa, Aspire Art Auctions made impressive statements and set several world records.

Two rare works by Irma Stern achieved sparkling results. The top lot by value: Still life with magnolias, apples and bowl (1949), fetched R6 828 000, the highest price achieved for a work by Stern for over a year. Another significant still life, Still life with chrysanthemums in the artist’s handmade ceramic jug, from 1950, sold for R3 414 000.

A significant, world record was achieved for Peter Clarke – R1 479 400 for Lazy Day, an acrylic and gouache on paper from 1975, and records were also set for contemporary artists, Zander Blom and Paul Stopforth.

Viewing

Thursday 14 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Friday 15 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 16 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 17 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm

View all lots in this sale

Images *

Drag and drop .jpg images here to upload, or click here to select images.



 

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.