A landmark Irma Stern portrait returns from Europe, while a rare Georg Baselitz linocut headlines Strauss & Co’s fourth International Sale. Bringing together 126 lots by artists from 30 countries across five continents, the auction offers a sweeping encounter with four centuries of international art and the many cultural influences that have shaped South African collecting.
Taking place on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at 7pm, Strauss & Co’s fourth annual live-virtual International Sale brings together paintings, prints, photography and other works spanning different periods, artistic movements and geographical traditions.
Among its leading works are important pieces by Georg Baselitz, Erik Laubscher, Shirin Neshat and Irma Stern. At the centre is Stern’s Two Women, also known as Zulu Sisters, a 1935 portrait recently repatriated from Europe after spending decades in a private collection.
Estimated at R6 million to R8 million, the painting offers a particularly compelling moment in the sale: a significant work by one of South Africa’s most celebrated artists returning to the country.
Irma Stern’s Two Women Returns Home
Few works in the catalogue carry the same combination of artistic history and personal resonance as Irma Stern’s Two Women.
Created in 1935, the portrait is also known as Zulu Sisters. It was exhibited in London in 1937, where it first changed hands. The work subsequently remained in a private European collection for decades before its recent repatriation.
The painting belongs to a loosely connected group of double portraits inspired by Stern’s extensive travels. Its visual language recalls her earlier Expressionist style of the 1920s, particularly through its tonalities and use of black to define the figures.
Its portrayal of youth and innocence adds another dimension to the work.
Estimated at R6 million to R8 million, or approximately US$369,117 to US$492,156, Two Women stands among the principal highlights of the International Sale.
Stern’s own artistic journey also reflects the international influences that helped shape South African art. Like fellow South African artist Erik Laubscher, she received formal training abroad before contributing new styles to the country’s artistic landscape.
Baselitz’s Rare Horse Print
Another standout is Das Pferd by German painter, printmaker and sculptor Georg Baselitz.
Known for rejecting abstraction in favour of the figure, Baselitz has built a distinctive artistic practice around figurative imagery. His work rarely appears at auction in Africa, making this offering a notable inclusion in Strauss & Co’s catalogue.
Das Pferd is a unique linocut from an edition of six, with each example individually hand-coloured. Estimated at R900,000 to R1.2 million, the work draws on one of Baselitz’s recurring motifs: the horse.
The imagery connects to childhood memories of rural Saxony, giving the subject a personal dimension within the artist’s wider body of work.
The estimate translates to approximately US$55,368 to US$73,823.
Its inclusion also demonstrates the range of material in the sale, where an individualised print sits alongside paintings, photographs and works from different artistic traditions.
Erik Laubscher and the Influence of Paris
South African artist Erik Laubscher brings another important chapter of international artistic exchange to the auction.
His double-sided painting, Young Family / Construction, dates from 1954–59 and carries an estimate of R3 million to R5 million, or approximately US$184,559 to US$307,598.
The recto-verso work is described as a fine example of Laubscher’s early School of Paris style.
Laubscher travelled to Paris in 1950, where he secured studio space at the Académie Montmartre. Although he was not a pupil of the academy’s director, Fernand Léger, Laubscher spoke fondly of Léger’s presence and guidance in the studios.
The painting was later gifted to Laubscher’s daughter.
Its story highlights how international encounters helped inform the work of South African artists, creating connections between local artistic histories and broader movements abroad.
Shirin Neshat: Photography, Film and Performance
The catalogue also features Iranian-American artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat, represented by an untitled photographic portrait from 1997.
The portrait is linked to her celebrated two-channel black-and-white film installation Turbulent (1998). Neshat received the Golden Lion at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999.
Her practice continues to connect photography, film and contemporary artistic expression. In May 2026, she returned to Venice to premiere a new film trilogy, Do U Dare!, at Palazzo Marin. She is also directing Verdi’s opera Aida at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
Her presence in the sale extends its reach beyond traditional painting and printmaking, reflecting the variety of media represented across the catalogue.
Four Centuries of Art, Five Continents
The International Sale brings together 126 lots by artists from 30 countries across five continents. Its scope stretches across four centuries of international art collected during different periods of South African history.
The catalogue ranges from 17th-century British, Dutch and Flemish paintings to contemporary editions produced after 2000 by artists including Mr Brainwash, Jim Dine, Isaac Julien, Jeff Koons and Lucas Samaras.
It also includes seascape painters Manolis Calliyannis, Malcolm de Chazal and Gerard Devoud, alongside a woodcut by Kitano Tsunetomi, known for his association with the pleasure quarters of Kyoto and Osaka.
Two works by German-Jewish Impressionist Joseph Oppenheimer depict Ascot and Kensington Gardens. Graphics by David Hockney, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, John Piper and Frank Stella feature among the catalogue’s more accessible estimates, while photography includes high-value works by Malick Sidibé of Mali and Carlos Garaicoa of Cuba.
For Ian Hunter, Head of Sale at Strauss & Co, the diversity of the works reflects a wider historical story.
“The diverse catalogue, which includes two works by the renowned German-Jewish Impressionist Joseph Oppenheimer, depicting Ascot and Kensington Gardens, speaks to the identity of a colony that became a country,” Hunter says.
“South Africa’s geographic position and diverse trading history have contributed to an eclecticism that extends beyond art from Britain, Europe and North America.”
Hunter also points to the breadth of artistic approaches represented in the sale.
“The catalogue incorporates many threads, currents and themes, from graphics by David Hockney, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, John Piper and Frank Stella with attractive estimates to high-value photographs by Malick Sidibé of Mali and Carlos Garaicoa of Cuba. The strength of this sale lies in its diversity and eclecticism.”
More Than an Auction
The International Sale coincides with two further live sales dedicated to jewellery and silver, bringing additional collecting categories into the same period.
Strauss & Co has also listed specialist events connected to the sale, including an art and silver walkabout with Ian Hunter and a conversation featuring Hunter and Senior Art Specialist Leigh Leyde titled The International Sale: Four centuries of art from 30 countries, in one room.
Together, the works in the catalogue offer more than a collection of individual objects. They trace connections between artists, places, historical periods and the collectors who brought international art into South African collections.
From Stern’s repatriated portrait to Baselitz’s hand-coloured linocut, the sale places distinctive works within a much broader story of artistic exchange.
Strauss & Co’s fourth International Sale takes place on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at 7pm.
Explore the catalogue and find further information at Strauss & Co.
