Prospects for art from Africa look good in 2026 as Strauss &Co. announces a record sales figure for art in 2025

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

I remember a few years ago, whenever I read Strauss &Co.’s annual report, which among other things contains information about the value of the work that would have been sold that year, it stood at an impressive figure of R200 million.

This kind of information is important in many ways, as Strauss the leading art auction house on the African continent, and therefore information like this gives as an idea of the value of ar6t work on the continent and its contribution to the GDP. But of course the auction house is not flying solo in the commercial art space as for example, in South Africa alone we also have other two active auction houses -Stephan Welz, which specialises in classic art, and Aspire art, which like Strauss specialises in contemporary and modern art. This mean that the value of art work that changed hands on the auction floor even then was more than the R200 million annually in South Africa.

The reality though is that picture has changed significantly over the past six year or so. More and more art is being sold at auction in the country, and the annual value of art work sold has ballooned.
I had an insight into a fair picture of what the value of art sold on the continent in general, and in South Africa in particular looks like when I attended a presentation by Strauss&C0. recently at which a leading panel of art experts made impressive presentations on art intelligence on the commercial art space. The strong team of panellists hailed from Morocco, Qatar, the UK and South Africa.
At a time when global sales of art has slowed down, art from Africa is holding a steady position, either not going down or if not going up, meaning that more and more collectors from around the world have confidence in collecting art produced on the continent by contemporary artists.

For example Strauss& Co.’s sales for 2025 increased by 26%, and these strong prices mean that recognition for artists from Africa continue to grow, and about 20% of the buyers were international buyers, 31% of the buyers were new to Strauss& Co.’s platforms.
There were also diverse collecting categories. Another category recently introduced by Strauss and whose sales have steadily picked up is the Private Collection sales, which amounted to 17% of the revenue for the company in 2025.

And with South Africa’s positive macroeconomic environment currently looking good, there is a sense in art circles that the prospects for 2026 look even better for African artists on the commercial art space.

Strauss & Co.’ sales figure for 2025 looks good. During the presentation, chairman Frank Kilbourn announced that the company in 2025 achieved a record total sales of R475.5m / $28 million from 6,927 lots sold through the various sales channels, an increase of 26% over 2024.
The figure includes 83 non-charity, revenue-generating auctions and private sales.

International engagement remained a priority, with marketing activities in Europe and the UK and a highly successful inaugural auction in Kenya, extending the company’s regional footprint. Strauss & Co continued to grow the number of new registrants and new buyers at its auctions. Roughly one in five clients is located outside South Africa and the company expanded its international buyer reach to 56 countries, we were told.

“In the macro-economic environment, jitters around American import tariffs on South African products were counterbalanced by strong positives, including consistent interest rate cuts, robust performance by the state power utility, and a favourable foreign-currency long-term sovereign rating. Encouragingly, the Government of National Unity, formed in 2024 and representing a broad coalition of ten parties, is holding steady,” the company states.

Demand for high-value artworks remained steady, with 14 artworks selling above R5m / $295 000 in 2025.
An expanded auction program, a broader range of artists and makers, and the successful introduction of luxury collectables alongside fine and decorative art contributed to the strong results. Landmark single-owner and corporate collections enhanced the auction calendar, while a generally improving domestic economic outlook helped restore confidence among buyers and consignors. Sustained demand for high-value works was matched by healthy participation from private sales, with continued interest in leading South African masters. Private sales continued to grow, contributing approximately 17% to the total revenue.

“Notwithstanding a challenging global backdrop, Strauss & Co delivered a year of steady growth driven by an expanded auction programme, strong demand for exceptional works, and the continued diversification of our collecting categories. The energy in our salerooms, the depth of participation across digital and live platforms, and the success of our international and regional initiatives all point to a resilient and confident market. We enter the year ahead well positioned, with a focused and well-motivated team, a broadened audience and sustained momentum across all facets of the business”, said Kilbourn. “The increasing digitalisation of trade and industry, while hugely beneficial to the business, has changed ago-old habits so it was also gratifying to see new and old friends participate in the social aspects of collecting: from attending preview exhibitions, walkabouts and educational talks to bidding in the room for a prized work.”

Additional highlights and observations from 2025
.Strauss & Co revitalised the design, furniture and jewellery department while the wine division consolidated its position as the leading marketplace for rare and fine South African bottles, earning R27.4m / $1.6m from 1 795 lots sold. . The revitalised design department earned R31.5m / $1.85m from 1 100 lots sold.

• Digital auctions continued to underpin growth, accounting for the majority of lots sold, supported by steady increases in new registrants and buyers from across the globe. Four out of every five lots sold (84%) were traded digitally through Strauss & Co’s 67 timed-online auctions. These sales earned R102.4m from 5,862 lots, confirming an entrenched shift to online buying.
• Impeccable single-owner and corporate collections were led by the Mary Eleanor Hibbert Cape Silver Collection and the Engen Collection of art and wine.
• Two important highlights were Vladimir Tretchikoff’s 1955 signature portrait Lady from the Orient sold in Johannesburg for R31.1m / $1.8m to a telephone bidder after a dramatic flurry of 89 bids. The astonishing price is a new world record for the artist. And in October, at its International Sale in Cape Town, six bidders vied for Irma Stern’s magnificent 1946 portrait Malay (Black Headdress), which eventually sold to a resolute telephone bidder for R21.7m / $1.26m. The fevered enthusiasm can be ascribed to the quality and period of this work and the fact that it had been held by the same family for over a half century.
• The ten top-earning artists sold through Strauss & Co in 2025 collectively generated 55% of the company’s aggregated income. Strauss & Co earned R260.2 m / $15.3m from 493 lots sold by Walter Battiss, William Kentridge, Maggie Laubser, John Meyer, J.H. Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, Irma Stern, Vladimir Tretchikoff and Anton van Wouw in 2025.
• Strauss & Co is committed to supporting and nurturing the art sector. Key sponsorships in 2025 included Hermanus FynArts, Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees, Welgemeend Art Month and the Cassirer Welz Award.
• Exhibition making is a key component of the company’s marketing and educational outreach. Strauss & Co presented Prelude to Podlashuc, Working Life in South Africa: Gerard Sekoto & Lena Hugo, What the Fook? The Life and Work of Walter Battiss, Kalahari Studio: Honouring the Past, Shaping Legacies and Boerneef Collection at its Cape Town and Johannesburg showrooms. It also staged dynamic exhibitions at RMB Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg and Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees in Stellenbosch.

Private sale in Cape Town and participation at Investec Cape Town Art Fair
A special and unique sale, Hair Matters – A Selection of Works from The Georgina Jaffee Collection – a single-owner sale of mostly contemporary art guided by a singular conceptual mandate: hair as medium, metaphor or focal point of exploration will include a strong pan-African selection from artists Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou (Benin), Ifeoma U. Anyaeji (Nigeria), Sethembile Msezane (South Africa) as well as Hank Willis Thomas (United States).

February is a peak period for the visual arts in Cape Town. Strauss & Co will host three public talks at the 2026 Investec Cape Town Art Fair on Friday, 20 February 2026 from 3pm 6pm. These talks, within the floor plan of the fair in the Cape Town International Convention Centre, will offer insight into the secondary market (Dr Alastair Meredith), the impact of modernist art (Wilhelm van Rensburg) and a roundtable on collecting contemporary art. Strauss & Co will also host a dynamic programme of events ahead of and during Investec Cape Town Art Fair.

Following the closure of the Irma Stern Museum in October 2025, Strauss & Co, in collaboration with Brickfield Canvas, will present an exhibition of selected works from the core collection of the Irma Stern Trust. Timed to coincide with the South Africa’s busiest art week, the exhibition affords this seminal artist renewed prominence, offering collectors, advisors, curators and the broader public an opportunity to engage closely with Stern’s enduring legacy.

Looking further ahead, the company is directing its marketing and educational initiatives towards the 61st edition of the Venice Biennale (9 May – 22 November 2026), presented under curator Koyo Kouoh’s vision of In Minor Keys. Strauss & Co is a long-standing sponsor of the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF), a free public platform held during the Biennale’s opening week that in 2026 will be co-sponsored by The Smithsonian Museum of African Art.