Sarah Keys wants her fellow countrymen to see the value in South African art. By her lights, presented on a personal finance site, South African art is poised to break out:
In addition to the fundamental principles which make art a good investment option worldwide, South African art has a unique advantage: Firstly, due to historical reasons, South Africa did not participate in the international art market, resulting in a previous lack of exposure and recognition. South African masters produced art of equal quality and on a similar time line. Our art is now seriously recognised by local and international buyers with artists such as Irma Stern (1894 – 1966), Gerard Sekoto (1913 – 1993), Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (1886 – 1957) and, Maggie Laubser (1886 – 1973) trading for record prices locally and abroad. […] There has been substantial growth in this section of the market place, with records for South African artists; including Alexis Preller, Cecil Skotnes and Stanley Pinker being broken repeatedly in the last 24 months.
The new highs in this category are often quite dramatic and it is not uncommon for a record to be set at over a 100% more than the previous high for a Post War artist, many of whom have jumped from a few hundred thousand rands in late 2007 to over a million rands in 2008, 2009 and 2010. […]
Secondly, top collectors who have been investing in the international market for many years are beginning to recognise the true value and merit of South African art. Movements in BRICA countries such as Russia and China have already begun achieving stunning results […] and now all eyes are turning towards the South African art market, which is promising large room for growth and can be sold in sterling pounds, euros and dollars.
Art as an Investment (Moneyweb)
