Strauss & Co partners with Art Auction East Africa to bolster secondary market for East African art – African Business Innovation

• Two-part auction: live-virtual sale and concurrent timed-online works on paper
• Live sale headlined by Geoffrey Mukasa, K. F. Msangi and Sam Ntiro
• Partnership builds on Circle Art Agency’s Art Auction East Africa – pioneering work in Kenya since 2013

NAIROBI – Strauss & Co, Africa’s leading auction house, and Danda Jaroljmek, Director of Art Auction East Africa, are pleased to announce details of Art Auction East Africa | Strauss & Co, a new two-part auction of rare and important art from East Africa and beyond. The main event is a 65-lot live-virtual sale of modern and contemporary art, to be held at Circle Art Gallery, Victoria Square, Riara Road, Nairobi, on Wednesday, 5 November 2025. Running alongside it is a timed-online sale of works on paper, which concludes the same day.

The auction is led by rare works from across East Africa including a work by the distinguished Tanzanian painter, diplomat and academic Sam Ntiro, Working in the Fields, a 1970s oil painting depicting a lush rural landscape (estimate KSh 900 000 – 1 300 000 / US$ 6 967 – 10 064).

Collectors of celebrated Ugandan painter Geoffrey Mukasa will have an opportunity to bid on three scarce works, including the mixed-media pieces Boy Kneeling (1998/2005) and Still Life (2007/08), each estimated at KSh 1.2 – 1.5 million / US$ 9 290 – 11 610.

“The quality of the works by Msangi, Mukasa and Ntiro, viewed together with top-notch works by Cyrus Kabiru, Justus Kyalo and Beatrice Wanjiku, underscore the breadth of artistic practices across East Africa over the past six decades,” says Danda Jaroljmek, Director, Circle Art Agency, who established Art Auction East Africa in 2013 as a platform to cultivate a secondary market for East African artists working during the era of decolonisation and independence.

Broader regional highlights from the catalogue include works by Egyptian painter Souad Abdelrassoul and Zimbabwean artist Misheck Masamvu. A collaborative work by Kenyan sculptor Gakunju Kaigwa and Zimbabwean sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa underscores the transnational dialogue in African art. Both Masamvu and Gutsa represented Zimbabwe at the Venice Biennale in 2011.

Susie Goodman, Managing Executive of Strauss & Co, comments: “This bold initiative is a strategic partnership between two leading regional actors with deep networks and a shared commitment to the African art market. It recognises the importance of collaboration in fostering a thriving pan-African art ecosystem. We are especially excited to deepen our engagement with artists, collectors and institutions in East Africa. Strauss & Co has global client base, and we are excited at the prospect of taking our clients on this exciting journey.”

The currency for the sale is Kenyan Shilling (KSh). All viewing and collections take place in Nairobi.

	Geoffrey Mukasa Untitled (Single Face in Red) KES 500 000 – 800 000USD 3 870 – 6 192 Starting at KES 450 000USD 3 483
	Kiure Francis Msangi Lusiki KES 1 000 000 – 1 500 000USD 7 740 – 11 610 Starting at KES 750 000USD 5 805
	Kiure Francis Msangi Baobab under the Red Moon KES 1 000 000 – 1 500 000USD 7 740 – 11 610 Starting at KES 750 000USD 5 805
	Simon Mpata Birds and Insects KES 400 000 – 465 000USD 3 096 – 3 599 Starting at KES 350 000USD 2 709
	Souad Abdelrassoul A Hopeful Face; In the Confrontation, two KES 580 000 – 680 000USD 4 489 – 5 263 Starting at KES 500 000USD 3 870
	Jacob Hendrik Pierneef Dar es Salem (sic) KES 450 000 – 600 000USD 3 483 – 4 644 Starting at KES 400 000
	Geoffrey Mukasa Boy Kneeling KES 1 300 000 – 1 500 000USD 10 062 – 11 610 Starting at KES 1 200 000USD 9 288
	Ancent Soi Herdsboy Taking Cows Home KES 530 000 – 660 000USD 4 102 – 5 108 Starting at KES 400 000USD 3 096
	Miska Mohammed The Movement of Daisies KES 440 000 – 600 000USD 3 406 – 4 644 Starting at KES 400 000USD 3 096

Rare works (descending):

Lot 39: Sam Ntiro (Tanzanian 1923–1993) Working in the Fields, circa 1970s, oil on canvas (estimate KSh 900 000 – 1 300 000 / $6 967 – $10 064)

Lot 24: K F Msangi (Tanzanian, 1936–2003) Lusiki, 1960-62, oil on canvas (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Lot 26: K F Msangi (Tanzanian, 1936–2003) Baobab under the Red Moon, 1968-69, acrylic on canvas (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Lot 12: Geoffrey Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954–2009) Boy Kneeling, 1998/ 2005, mixed media, oil, collage on board (estimate KSh 1.2 – 1.5 million / $9 290 – $11 610)

Lot 13: Geoffrey Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954–2009) Still Life, 2007-08, mixed media, collage on board (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Top artists by value:

Geoffrey Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954–2009)

Lot 12, Boy Kneeling (estimate KSh 1.2 – 1.5 million / $9 290 – $11 610)

Lot 13, Still Life (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

1. F. Msangi (Tanzanian, 1936–2003)

Lot 24, Lusiki (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Lot 26, Baobab under the Red Moon (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Top 10 lots by value (descending):

Lot 12: Geoffrey Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954–2009) Boy Kneeling, 1998/ 2005, mixed media, oil, collage on board (estimate KSh 1.2 – 1.5 million / $9 290 – $11 610)

Lot 13: Geoffrey Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954–2009) Still Life, 2007-08, mixed media, collage on board (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Lot 24: K F Msangi (Tanzanian, 1936–2003) Lusiki, 1960-62, oil on canvas (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Lot 26: K F Msangi (Tanzanian, 1936–2003) Baobab under the Red Moon, 1968-69, acrylic on canvas (estimate KSh 1 – 1.5 million / $7 740– $11 610)

Lot 39: Sam Ntiro (Tanzanian 1923–1993) Working in the Fields, circa 1970s, oil on canvas (estimate KSh 900 000 – 1 300 000 / $6 967 – $10 064)

Lot 46: Beatrice Wanjiku (Kenyan, b. 1978) We Are Who We Are, 2010, mixed media on canvas (estimate KSh 800 000 – 1 000 000 / $6 192 – $7 740)

Lot 31: Justus Kyalo (Kenyan, b. 1972) More light a little, 2021, acrylic on canvas (estimate KSh 685 000 – 885 000 / $5 302 – $6 850)

Lot 9: Cyrus Kabiru (Kenyan, b. 1984), Vice Versa, 2024, mixed media sculpture (estimate KSh 600 000 – 1 000 000 / $4 645 – $7 740)

Lot 63: Souad Abdelrassoul (Egyptian, born 1974) A Hopeful Face & In the Confrontation (diptych), 2025, acrylic on canvas (estimate KSh 580 000 – 680 000 / $ 4 486 – 5 260)

Lot 14: Geoffrey Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954–2009) Untitled, (single face in red), 1996, mixed media and collage on paper (estimate KSh 500 000 – 800 000 / $3 870 – $6 192)

www.straussart.co.za

Art Auction East Africa

Established in 2009, Strauss & Co is the leading art auction house in Africa, specialising in modern and contemporary art, collectable design, fine wine and jewellery. With a focus on African and international art, Strauss & Co caters to art enthusiasts globally with its curated mix of marquee live auctions, single-artist sales, spotlight presentations and popular monthly online sales. A pioneer of borderless digital sales, Strauss & Co has a large global client list interested in artists, designers and wine producers from Africa and beyond. Private treaty services are also available.

Strauss & Co is the leading reseller of work by blue-chip artists William Kentridge, J.H. Pierneef and Irma Stern. It has achieved the highest number of records for South African artists at auction. Notable records include the R31.9m / US$ 1.78m sale of Vladimir Tretchikoff’s 1955 portrait Lady from the Orient in 2025. Expanding from its original format of four live sales annually in 2009, which earned R100m, Strauss & Co has consistently grown its revenues, earning R388m / $21.6m from 65 auctions in 2024.

The company actively champions artists and makers from Africa in global centres across Africa and Europe through dynamic engagements with partners in cities such as Berlin, London, Nairobi and Venice. In South Africa, Strauss & Co supports various education and community engagement programmes, including a year-round exhibition programme in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Art Club is a further expression of its belief in a sustainable ecosystem and provides collectors with opportunity to learn and socialise at events in Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and Stellenbosch.