GEORGE NEWS - An art collector from Worcester, André van Eck, is pondering the origin of one of his pieces, an etching by the Dutch-South African artist Tinus de Jongh titled Berg River, Simondium.
The back of the art piece shows a stamp and logo of the former Strydom Art Gallery in George, stating that it was framed at the gallery.
"Thus, linking the work to the former Strydom Art Gallery that housed the Professor Leon Strydom Collection," said Van Eck. Prof Leon Strydom was a well-known literary scholar and art expert.
Van Eck said he consulted Ian Hunter, a senior art specialist at South Africa's leading fine art auction house, Strauss & Co's, on this matter. According to Van Eck, Hunter's e-mail correspondence could not bring him closer to a nagging desire to ascertain whether the art piece was indeed part of the Strydom Collection, or merely framed at the gallery.
"Hunter asked the person that listed the work for auction (where I purchased it in 2022), but they did not know," said Van Eck.
"This fact still remains unknown, and the matter remains disputed."
If anyone has any knowledge on this matter they are asked to send an e-mail to Van Eck at andrefvaneck@gmail.com. His collection consists of seven artworks to date and includes works by Hugo Naudé, Gregoire Boonzaier, Thomas Bowler, Edward Roworth and Tinus de Jongh.
André van Eck with a beautiful etching by Thinus de Jongh, that might have been part of the Professor Leon Strydom Art Collection.
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