What the Fook? A landmark single-artist auction from Strauss & Co celebrates the life of Walter Battiss

By CityLife Arts Writer

“Strauss & Co is proud to announce What the Fook? The Life and Work of Walter Battiss, the first-ever single-artist auction in South Africa devoted to South African artist Walter Battiss (1906–1982). This timed-online sale, which runs from 12 to 30 June 2025, honours Battiss by showcasing his core practice: painting, printmaking and drawing,”says the auction company.

“What the Fook? celebrates the life and work of Walter Battiss, a protean and prolific figure in the story of twentieth-century South African art,” says Leigh Leyde, Head of Sale, Strauss & Co. “As well as being an important artist, Battiss was an influential teacher, archaeologist, critic and publisher. In 1938 he cofounded the New Group a vibrant collective of burgeoning South African artists united by a shared desire to challenge and transcend the prevailing conservative art conventions of the time. His Fook Island project of the 1970s cemented his status as a boundary-breaking visionary and critic of censorship. His spirit of renewal and optimistic worldview remains deeply resonant today.”

The catalogue for What the Fook? spans more than four decades of Battiss’s career, from 1938 until his death in 1982, with a focus on his prolific Pretoria years. The works on offer include oil paintings, watercolours and screenprints, many drawn from notable private collections, including those of art historian Murray Schoonraad and composer Robert Schröder – both former students of Battiss at Pretoria Boys High School.