Braam J. Kruger painting sells for record price
HOUGHTON – The painting popularly known as kitchen boy by life artist and chef Braam J Kruger sold for a whopping R204 624 on 1 June.
The auction took place at Strauss & Co in Johannesburg and, according to the executive director, Bina Genovese, it was an enormous success.
“[The auction] totalled R48 million and was over 82 percent sold by value and by lot. This is by far the highest total for South African art globally.”
Kruger presented a popular cooking programme on TV for many years before passing away in 2008. In kitchen boy, he depicts himself and his erstwhile girlfriend, actress Grethe Fox, in the nude as Justice. “I understand it was commissioned by a law firm for their boardroom, hence the presence of Justice,” Genovese added.
Genovese said that the top lot of the sale was a hotly-contested international work, Dolly au Collier D’argent by Dutch artist Kees van Dongen, which exceeded its pre-sale estimate and sold for R5 684 000.
Details: www.straussart.co.za
