South African painting valued

South African painting valued at £1m discovered in London

A painting worth a pretty penny by South African artist Irma Stern has been discovered in London where it was being used as a notice board.

South African painting valued

If you’ve ever watched Antiques Roadshow you know that people have all sorts of stuff that’s worth thousands of Pounds without even knowing. But this one takes the cake. An art expert has found a painting that was sold to help fund Nelson Mandela’s legal defence and those who had was using it as a notice board.

The painting dates back to 1939 and is called: Arab in Black. It’s painted by Irma Stern. Stern’s work has recently been soaring in value.

The painting was spotted by Hannah O’Leary, a specialist in South African art at Bonhams auction house, during a valuation visit to the flat. O’Leary says:

I spotted this masterpiece hanging in the kitchen covered in letters, postcards and bills. It was a hugely exciting find, even before I learned of its political significance.

Steyn passed away in 1966 and her home in Cape Town has been turned into a museum.

The painting in question was donated to a charity auction in the 1950s. Betty Suzman. sister-in-law of the anti-apartheid activist and politician Janet Suzman donated it to help pay for the legal costs involved in Mandela and other ANC activists who were on trial for high treason and faced the death penalty.

In the 1970s, the parents of the current owner emigrated to the UK and brought their prized-painting with them. It will be sold at the Bonham’s auction of South African Art in London on 9 September.

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