According to Senior Art Specialist, Emma Bedford, the Strauss & Co catalogue provides a cornucopia of the best in South African art, from a rare casein by JH Pierneef to an early tapestry by Athi-Patra Ruga, all of which are coming up at Strauss & Co’s 14 March 2016 auction at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands.

Headlining the international art is a unique drawing by Marc Chagall demonstrating once again this company’s global reach. Chagall’s Pour Gustave Zumsteg (R1 100 000 – 1 300 000) is dedicated to the proprietor of Kronenhalle, a legendary Swiss restaurant frequented by artists and luminaries of the beau monde such as Sophia Loren, Yves Saint Laurent and Rudolf Nureyev. The lot is accompanied by a commemorative book on Kronenhalle.

Maggie Laubser’s Birds and Boats (R700 000 – 900 000), an excellent example of her work, has a wonderful provenance, having been acquired directly from the artist by a close friend, whose family had lived for generations on the Lanzerac farm. Two glorious Hugo Naudé spring landscapes, awash with light and colour, were once owned respectively by a leading educator and a former sports star who played international rugby and led his cricket teams to victory.

Red Rock (R600 000 – 900 000), one of the most striking paintings by Walter Battiss ever to come to auction, draws on the artist’s studies of rock art that were to play such a major role in the development of his unique style. His research culminated in the publication in 1948 of The artists of the rocks.

In the remarkable life-size Sleeper Red (R800 000 – 1 200 000) William Kentridge pushes printmaking to the limits by using his own thumb and handprints to build up the textures of flesh. Younger artists like Ian Grose, Zander Blom, Dorothee Kreutzfeldt and Bridget Baker make a good showing and are expected to draw keen bidding.

The sale also features a broad selection of good quality decorative arts, furniture and jewellery; including four single owner collections. The first collection consists of nine pieces of historic Cape furniture which formerly belonged to Randlord Sir Lionel and Lady Phillips of Vergelegen and thereafter to Punch and Cynthia Barlow, who purchased Vergelegen in 1943 from Lady Phillips’ estate. Some were purchased in June 1941 when the contents of Vergelegen were auctioned. A significant piece is the 18^th century Cape stinkwood, satinwood and silver-mounted armoire, which is estimated at R600 000 – 800 000. Strauss & Co holds the auction record for Cape furniture, an 18^th century Cape coromandel side cupboard that sold for over a million rand in 2009. It is hoped that this armoire will achieve a similar result.

Visit straussart.co.za or call 021 683 6560 for more information.

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Calling all artists: Fancy winning R100 000 for a portrait you have created? Then enter South Africa’s first National Portrait Award, launched by Sanlam Private Investments (SPI). As the media partner, VISI spoke to Stefan Hundt, head of the SPI Art Advisory Service and curator of the Sanlam Art Collection.

What sort of response are you hoping for?

We hope for a large and diverse range of entries. Portraiture is not a simple thing, although it is quite significant. In South Africa, historically, artists such as Irma Stern and Maggie Laubser painted a number of portraits, largely because of our British colonial heritage. Britain places great importance on this style – it’s the only country with a National Portrait Gallery. Nonetheless, portraits are not the biggest seller in the market, probably because they carry such individualism. What we’re hoping to do with the SPI National Portait Award is to get people to engage with the concept of what a portrait is, rather than simply a likeness in head-and-shoulders format. For instance, the medium of sculpture can add interesting elements.

What makes a good portrait?

The first thing, for most people, is the traditional perspective of seeing a likeness; a relation between what’s on the canvas and the actual person. The next thing is that the artwork should represent the person beyond simply their physical appearance. Artists use various techniques for this, for instance the angle from which they portray the subject, the texture and the proportion. Various conventions and tropes have been developed over the centuries and the artist’s ability to manipulate them determines the success of the portrait. On the other hand, the artist can subvert those conventions, turning them upside down.

Who makes a good subject for a portrait?

I don’t think you can identify an ideal portrait subject, but the biggest problem is painting people who are famous. Most portraits of Nelson Mandela, for instance, are terrible. It’s a challenge to capture someone whose image is so well-known across the world because, to do it justice, you almost have to fight the popular perception of the person. Also, most Mandela portraits are done from secondary sources and photos, so they’re sentimental and imaginary. It’s difficult to do a portrait of a well-known person unless you can get them to sit in front of you. If you want to do it well, paint someone you know.

Do you have any advice for entrants?

Get cracking! The deadline is 19 August 2013.

The Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville, Cape Town, will hold an exhibition of the top 40 entries, which will then travel to galleries around South Africa.

For more information, entry forms and competition rules, go to www.spiportraitaward.co.za or call Monica Ross on 021 976 4691.

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