12th Nov, 2017 17:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
89
Anton van Wouw (Nertherlands 1862-1945)
Bad News (Slegte Nuus)
bronze on a wooden base
Artwork date: 1907
Signature details: signed and inscribed ‘SA Joh-burg’
Literature: Duffey, A.E. (2008). Anton van Wouw: The Smaller Works. Pretoria: Protea Book House, another cast from the edition illustrated on pp.53 to 55. University of Pretoria. (1981). Anton van Wouw 1862–1945 en die Van Wouwhuis. Pretoria: Butterworth and Co., another cast from the edition illustrated on p.27, plate A5.
Sold for R1,023,120
Estimated at R1,000,000 - R1,500,000
bronze on a wooden base
Artwork date: 1907
Signature details: signed and inscribed ‘SA Joh-burg’
Literature: Duffey, A.E. (2008). Anton van Wouw: The Smaller Works. Pretoria: Protea Book House, another cast from the edition illustrated on pp.53 to 55. University of Pretoria. (1981). Anton van Wouw 1862–1945 en die Van Wouwhuis. Pretoria: Butterworth and Co., another cast from the edition illustrated on p.27, plate A5.
(1)
34 x 64 x 52 cm excluding base
Notes:
Anton van Wouw was born in the Netherlands, and received a thorough training in academic sculpture in Europe. He emigrated to the Boer Republic of the Transvaal in 1890, and sought work as a professional sculptor. After a period of initial struggle, he received his first public commission in 1896 from the well-known Pretoria businessman, Sammy Marks, to proceed with the sculpting of a statue of President Paul Kruger for Pretoria. Though the sculpture, cast in Italy, would not be exhibited for many years due to the interruption of the Anglo-Boer war, the commission launched van Wouw’s career. While his sympathies for the cause of the Afrikaner would lead to more large-scale commissions in later years, there is also much interest in his smaller statuettes, which show greater aesthetic quality and value. The current work on auction is a splendid example of these, made in his studio in Doornfontein in Johannesburg. It is, according to Stephan Welz, the best example of this work cast locally in Johannesburg.Its defining feature is the exquisite detailing and attention to the dramatic qualities of the historical tableau it depicts as the two exhausted Boer soldiers receive news of the fall of the Boer Republics in the war. The timing of the work, in 1907, would have meant that the defeat, and its aftermath of subjugation to the British, would still have been uppermost in many minds. Van Wouw’s sculpture brings the desolation of the defeat to brilliant life in this exquisitely observed piece.
James Sey
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Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 12th Nov, 2017
Aspire’s final auction for 2017 ended the year on a high note with a collection of top historical, modern and contemporary artworks.
A number of superb historic paintings came to auction, dating back to the late nineteenth century. Among them were works by Hugo Naudé, Anton Van Wouw, and Dorothy Kay. A fine collection of mid-twentieth century modern work by South Africa’s best-known artists at auction including Edoardo Villa, Maggie Laubser, Sydney Kumalo and Irma Stern were also on offer. The top lot by value was, however, a contemporary work. A superb drawing by world-renowned South African artist William Kentridge. Drawing from Mine (Soho with coffee plunger and cup) (1991), sold for R5 456 640, a record for a drawing by Kentridge in South Africa.
Viewing
Thursday 9 November 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Friday 10 November 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 11 November 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 12 November 2017 | 10 am – 3 pm
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