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 892 000.
The iconic painting is said to have been 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.
With commission and taxes included, the final sale price significantly exceeds the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work, achieved in March 2013 when Chinese Girl (1952) sold for £982,050 (R23 799 804,98) at a London auction.
“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.
In case you didn’t know: 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.
