South Africa just sold its most expensive painting

On 27 May 2025, a painting by Russia-born South African painter Vladimir Tretchikoff set a new record as the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in Africa, fetching R31.11 million.

The auction, headed by Strauss & Co. in Houghton, Johannesburg, featured works from various modern and contemporary artists.

Estimated prices ranged from under R50,000 to well over R1 million, according to the auction catalogue. The 100-lot sale earned a combined total of over R62.9 million.

The most expensive painting was Vladimir Tretchikoff’s 1955 portrait Lady from the Orient. It was estimated that this painting would fetch R5 million to R7 million.

However, it was sold for R31.11 million to an anonymous telephone bidder. This offer came after a flurry of 89 bids and narrowly beat a determined in-room contender.

“This painting has become one of the most famous images, certainly from the 1960s,” auctioneer Alastair Meredith said as he introduced Lady from the Orient.

“It was a runaway success as a print. It’s an image I think that almost all South Africans recognise, and to have the real thing back in South Africa for sale is very, very special.”

The final price, including commission and taxes, comfortably eclipsed the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work, set at £982,050 in March 2013 at a London auction for Chinese Girl (1952).

“It is always good when there is a murmur before a big lot,” Meredith said. Bids started at R4.5 million and escalated quickly. It didn’t take long before the $1 million mark was surpassed.

“The next bid is R25.2 million, which is something I have never said,” he shortly added. It took nine more bids before the painting found its new owner at a new world-record price.

Lady from the Orient

The painting depicts a 21-year-old Valerie Howe, daughter of a Cape Town grocer, and is one of Tretchikoff’s most recognisable works.

Inspired by Pre-Raphaelite painting and Golden Age Hollywood glamour, the portrait features Howe in a vivid green silk gown rendered in Tretchikoff’s signature Technicolor palette.

The work belongs to a small group of iconic images produced by the artist during the decade following his move to South Africa in 1946. A print edition of Lady from the Orient became a popular sensation in 1960s Britain.

“Vladimir Tretchikoff’s Lady from the Orient remains one of the most iconic and widely loved images produced by the artist following his move to South Africa in 1946,” Meredith said

“Upon its reproduction as a print, Lady from the Orient achieved astonishing success, becoming the second-best-selling print in Britain in 1962.”

He added that Tretchikoff’s vision has proven remarkably resilient, and his works continue to command record prices at auction.

Since his emergence on the international art scene in the early 1950s, Russia-born Tretchikoff has maintained a loyal and far-reaching collector base.

Interest in his work has intensified, notably in the wake of scholarship and museum interest over the past two decades, establishing his paintings among the most sought-after and recognisable images of the twentieth century.

Tretchikoff’s paintings, once considered unconventional by critics, now routinely achieve record results. In 2024, Strauss & Co sold Balinese Girl, also from his classic period, for R5.6 million / $303,406.

A prolific and imaginative artist, Tretchikoff explored a range of subjects, including glamorous portraiture, lush florals, religious themes and sport.

The auction delivered strong results for William Kentridge, George Pemba, JH Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto and Anton van Wouw, affirming robust interest in a cross-section of South African art.