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| Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu jokes with artist Ed Young at the unveiling of "The Arch" at Idasa in 2010 (Image: Idasa/Flickr.com) |
Contemporary South African art proved to be a big seller at a Strauss & Co auction held on Monday night in Cape Town.
The sale achieved a total of R50-million with a value sell-through rate of over 84%, once again the highest in the current market, the auctioneer said in a statement.
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| 'The Arch' by Cape Town-based artist Ed Young (Photo: Siobhan Cassidy) |
A popular work by Ed Young of Emeritus Archbishop Tutu swinging from a chandelier sold for R852 600, far exceeding pre-sale estimates of between R450 000 and R550 000.
The sculpture depicts a flying Tutu, smiling as he holds on to a chandelier. The sculpture was commissioned in 2010 by the Institute for Democracy in SA (Idasa). The Arch was sold to a private buyer after Idasa closed in 2013.
In a preview of the sale, Strauss & Co wrote on its website: "Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the first black Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, well known for his steadfast and unapologetic public voice, is also celebrated for his good humour. Upon seeing Ed Young's super-realist sculpture depicting a likeness of him swinging from a chandelier, Tutu laughed and pulled a fist at the work's creator. 'I'll send you bad dreams,' he told Young."
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