Alexis Preller breaks record at auction as Boy with a Crocodile painting sells for over R10 million
By CityLife Arts Writer
An eruptive cheer greeted the R10.4 million sale of Alexis Preller’s dazzling 1965 composition Boy with a Crocodile following suspenseful rivalry between two collectors vying by telephone and online channels for this outstanding painting. Presented in the premier session of Strauss & Co’s live virtual auction in Cape Town, the exceptional sale price established a new South African record for Preller at auction.
“It is an honour handle works of this exceptional calibre,” says Bina Genovese, a joint managing director at Strauss & Co who knocked down the Preller work on a rostrum backed by a green-screen to enhance the live streaming experience. “Great pictures are the champagne of the auction market, and the buzz leading up to this sale culminated in a moment of real fizz. The sale of Preller’s Boy with a Crocodile will go down as one my auction highlights.”
The three-day hybrid sale kicked off on Sunday, 9 October 2021 with a session featuring a trio of prestigious South African wine producers. All the lots by Alheit Vineyards, Sadie Family Wines and Vilafonté found buyers, generating a higher than expected total of R1.8 million. On the following day, bidders enthusiastically pursued collectable furniture pieces by talismanic international designers. Five artworks, including a painting apiece by Adolph Jentsch and Stanley Pinker, and two by JH Pierneef, fetched over R2 million. The sale netted a total of R51 million, with a lot sell-through rate of 70%.