INVEST IN SOUTH AFRICAN ART - part 3

A fine portrait by Ruth Everard-Haden is scheduled to go under the hammer at Stephan Welz & Co’s auction on the 21st February 2012, The work has attracted a pre-sale estimate of R800 000 – 1 000 000. 
Ruth Everard-Haden;  Mrs Wilmot of Carolina
In 1923 [1] Ruth Everard-Haden moved to Paris to continue her painting studies.

Ruth Everard-Haden






Dissatisfied with the restrictive and conservative[2] curriculum of the Slade, she received encouragement from her mother regarding this change. Bertha Everard had spent a similarly frustrating time in London as a young artist. During the years 1923-1927, Ruth's exposure to the École de Paris and the Fauves, notably Matisse and Cézanne, saw her assimilate elements including a confident use of line and a Fauvist sensibility towards colour and paint which she was to employ throughout her career.

"Though Ruth Everard may have felt a distinct preference for landscape painting, she kept in mind that she would have to develop as a portrait painter if she was to earn a living by art."[3]
Mrs Wilmot of Carolina has been rendered in recognisably bold lines and confident colour resonating with rich detailing. Characteristic of Ruth's oevre the attention to all over detailing includes the background and fabrics - the shawl in particular is worked with an intricate field of flowers. Similarly the tapestry fabric of the throw to the left of the subject is richly worked with stylised animals and patterning. Given Ruth's embrace of the École de Paris it is interesting to compare this work to Henri Matisse's La Robe Jaune Avec Guitare given the similarities in the pose and vibrancies of the respective artist's palettes. Composed during the winter of 1922-23 [4]Matisse's sitter is integrated into the overall patterning - her yellow dress echoes the wallpaper and carpets; her features are simplified in order to retain her anonymity.

Henri Matisse's: La Robe Jaune Avec Guitare
Ruth's sitter is however the focus of this work - her calm features are framed by white tiger lilies and her shawl. The lines of her white evening gown draw the viewer through the composition.
 Undertaken as a commission, Mrs Wilmot of Carolina, was rejected by the sitter who deemed it unflattering. This work was purchased directly from the artist in the mid-1980s by the current owner.
This confident work was one of the last painted by Ruth - she was forced to stop painting in 1956 after a cataract operation failed to correct her deteriorating eyesight. Her earlier comments surrounding her family's output seem particularly poignant given this early ending of her career: "There are not so many good that we can spare the ones that are [5] "


Public viewing will take place at The Great Cellar, Alphen Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia from the 17-19 February. Please call 021-794-6461 for further details.
[1] Esmé Berman, Art and Artist's of South Africa, AA Balkema, Cape Town, 1974,  p 111
[2] Frieda Harmsen, The Women of Bonnefoi: The story of the Everard Group, JL van Schaik (Pty) Ltd, Pretoria, 1980, p 85
[3] Michael Strauss (ed), Impressionism & Modern Art: The Season at Sotheby Parke Bernet 1973-74, Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications, London & New York, 1974, p123
[4] Frieda Harmsen, The Women of Bonnefoi: The story of the Everard Group, JL van Schaik (Pty) Ltd, Pretoria, 1980, p 143
[5] Frieda Harmsen, The Women of Bonnefoi: The story of the Everard Group, JL van Schaik (Pty) Ltd, Pretoria, 1980, p 93
http://www.standard.co.za/gallery/everard/everardfr.htm

OTHER NOTABLE ART TO GO ON AUCTION THE SAME DAY
606
Cecil Thornley Stewart
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG XHOSA WOMAN
R14 000 – 18 000
Cecil Thornley Stewart: Xhosa Woman

Lot 627
Irma Stern (South African 1894-1966)
STILL LIFE WITH LILIES
R 3 000 000 - 5 000 000

Irma Stern: Still Life with Lilies

Lot 645
Irma Stern
AFRICAN COMPOSITION
R4 500 000 – 5 000 000

Irma Stern African Composition

 
Lot 621
Erik Laubscher
THE BLUSH
R400 000 – 500 000

Erik Laubscher: The Blush



Lot 598
Hanneke Benade (South African 1972-)
REQUIEM
R 40 000 - 60 000

Hanneke Benade: Requiem
Lot 594
Keith Alexander (South African 1946-1998)
CAPE DUTCH
R 350 000 - 400 000

Keith Alexander: Cape Dutch

614
Alexander Rose-Innes
NUDE
R100 000 – 120 000


Alexander Rose-Innes: Nude

Lot 646
Clément (Joseph Charles Louis) Sénèque (South African 1896-1930)
NUNS OUTSIDE SACRÉ COEUR 
R 25 000 - 35 000
Clément (Joseph Charles Lous) Sénèque: Nuns Outside Sacré Coeur
Stanley Pinker
LANDSCAPE WITH WITBOYS – KRAAIE
R500 000 – 550 000

Stanley Pinker: Landscape with Witboys - Kraaie


The Great Cellar, Alphen Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia 7806
P O Box 818, Constantia, 7848
Tel:  +27 (21) 794-6461
Fax: +27 (21) 794-6621