Pierneef paintings and linocuts for sale

Strauss & Co’s March 6 auction in Cape Town includes nine works by landscape painter Jacob Pierneef.

The two major highlights are By McGregor, KP, a view of sunlit mountains and segmented farmlands, and Bushveld Landscape, a late oil painting dominated by enormous gnarled acacias and dramatic thunderclouds.

The Cape painting, which the artist may well have used as a touchstone for one of his Johannesburg Station panels, combines the mauves, mintgreens and the oranges and golds so familiar to Pierneef lovers, says Bina Genovese of Strauss & Co.

“So too is the pleasing composition of the bushveld view, which relies on the gentle arcs of the tree canopies and billowing clouds,” she says. “Two more canvases, painted with looser strokes in an impressionistic mode provide evidence of Pierneef’s stylistic breadth.”

A group of Pierneef works on paper will also be on offer.

Two palms are the focal point of a sweeping view of Marone, Lydenburg, while delicately drawn acacias are the subject of at least two other works.

Meanwhile, the artist’s impression of Meerlust will appeal to the growing number of collectors interested in Pierneef’s linocuts.

Other landscape paintings by Adolph Jentsch, Hugo Naude, Erik Laubscher, Peter Clarke and William Kentridge can also be seen at the Vineyard Hotel until Sunday.

These works, which vary dramatically in style, technique and spirit, hint at the strength of SA’s landscape tradition.

Nearly 600 items including paintings, decorative art works, furniture and jewellery will be on view at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands this weekend, before the sale on March 6.

The items have a presale estimate in excess of R50m.