10AND5: ART | NEWS
Vladimir Tretchikoff’s ‘Lady from the Orient’ sold for a massive R31,900,000 at the Strauss & Co Auctioneers‘ evening art sale in Johannesburg last night, setting a new world record for the artist. It’s the highest price ever paid for a Tretchikoff painting anywhere in the world.
The iconic painting was 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 Joburg.
The 75 x 86cm oil on canvas, recently on show at the RMB Latitudes Art Fair, was returned to South Africa by its previous owner, who believed it deserved to be sold on home soil. Initially estimated at just R5–R7 million.
Lady from the Orient shows 21-year-old Valerie Howe, a grocer’s daughter from Cape Town. It’s one of Tretchikoff’s most famous pieces. Inspired by old-school Hollywood and Pre-Raphaelite art, the painting shows Howe in a bold green silk dress. A print of the painting became a big deal in 1960s Britain, basically pop culture gold.
Tretchikoff moved to South Africa in 1946 and became famous for his bold, eye-catching portraits of mysterious women. His style blended Eastern influences from his time in Shanghai, Singapore and Java with dramatic colour, glam looks and a flair that made his work feel a bit like early pop art. Tretchi died in 2006 in Cape Town.
The identity of the buyer has not been revealed.
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