Irma Stern, a well-known South African artist, will have three of her artworks showcased at Sotheby’s Summer Season in London. This is quite a big deal as she will be featured alongside famous artists like Picasso, Renoir, and Degas.
Irma Stern is considered as one of the most important artists from South Africa. Her work is gaining more recognition globally, especially as there is an increasing demand for female artists from the 20th century.
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One of Stern’s notable interests was in the natural world, which is visible in her still-life paintings created in her studio at her home in Cape Town. These paintings, spanning from the 1920s to the 1960s, show her experimenting with colours and forms, as seen in one of her pieces, Still Life with Watermelons.
In 1931, Stern visited Madeira to find solace from personal troubles and to find new inspiration. She created numerous artworks during her time there, showcasing her mastery of light and colour.
Stern revisited Madeira twice more, and her works from these visits were displayed in her solo exhibition called ‘My Three Madeiras’ in 1964.
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Her nude artworks were recently featured in a detailed exhibition at the Sanlam Art Gallery in Cape Town in 2022. Curated by Michael Godby, this exhibition highlighted Stern’s exploration of monotypes from 1953/4, which are considered some of her most powerful representations of nudes.
