Trash or treasure? Let’s find out

Master class

Johannes Buckle of Roodepoort writes My wife inherited this oil painting (45 x 60cm) by Otto Klar from her grandmother. Can you tell me how much it’s worth?

Kayleen Wrigley of Stephan Welz & Co. replies Otto Klar was born in Vienna in 1908. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Arts and exhibited widely in Vienna, Munich and Berlin before moving to South Africa in 1939. Upon his arrival, he held many solo exhibitions.

In 1962, the President of Austria awarded Klar an honorary professorship in art, which would solidify his importance in the history books on 20th century art. Works by Otto Klar are held in many public collections, including those of the Durban and Pretoria Art Museums.

Seascapes became a theme to which Klar would often return in varying media, with a particular affinity for pastel. Given this subject matter and the size of this oil painting, I’d expect it to fetch a fine price at auction. CIRCA Early 20th century VALUE R20 000 – R30 000

An historic painting

Louise Botha of Plattekloof, Cape Town writes I found this oil on canvas painting of Lion’s Head in my late mother-in-law’s apartment; it’s signed “I.J. Kolbe 1888”. Is it valuable?

Kayleen replies This fine rendition of Lion’s Head was painted by Isabella Johannah Kolbe; she was born in George in 1856 and died in the Cape Province in 1919. As the canon of South African art only took off during the 20th century, this is a most unusual work – not only because of its early date, but also because it was painted by a woman in a time when the global art scene was dominated by men.

Kolbe studied art at the Cape Town School of Art, as well as in Düsseldorf and Munich in Germany. European influence on her artwork is strongly apparent in the use of dark green hues and very fine brushwork in the foliage; her style had not yet come to celebrate the bright African sunshine that would become the hallmark of later South African art.

What makes this painting even more interesting is the sparse landscape: a rural setting with not much more than a walkway to show evidence of human settlement close by; these days, this area is the trendy and vastly populated suburb of Tamboerskloof, Cape Town.

Shortly after painting this artwork, Kolbe moved to Europe on a permanent basis and only returned to the Cape in 1908. Sadly, her career came to an untimely end when poor eyesight halted her output.

As she wasn’t a particularly prolific artist, there are no pricing records of her work. However, due to its historical significance, I would expect the work to fetch a good price at auction. CIRCA 1888 VALUE R8 000 – R10 000

CONTACT ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za