The masterpiece under the bed

This article forms part of CN&CO’s series covering The Insurance Conference Western Cape 2026. Across the series, we revisit the ideas, stories and conversations shared by the conference’s speakers, highlighting the insights that are shaping insurance, business and leadership in a changing world.

When a man from White River called Strauss & Co to say, “I think I’ve got a Pierneef,” he sent the auction house a photograph showing only the top corner of the painting.

It was not much to go on. But Alastair Meredith, a Strauss & Co auctioneer with a particular interest in the work of JH Pierneef, was intrigued enough to drive four-and-a-half hours from Johannesburg to investigate.

He arrived at a small house at nine on a Monday morning. Instead of showing him the painting, the owner first took him through a collection of European sculptures. An hour passed. There was no tea, no coffee and not even a glass of water.

Eventually, Alastair was led upstairs. From underneath a bed, wrapped in dog blankets, emerged an enormous and extraordinary Pierneef.

The owner had inherited it from his father, a former University of Pretoria lecturer who had known the artist. He had no idea what it was worth.

Alistair cautiously suggested a value of around R6 million. The owner was stunned—and then became anxious about the uninsured masterpiece that had been living under his bed. “Just take the painting,” he insisted.

This presented a new problem. The painting needed to travel back to Johannesburg in an old Isuzu bakkie. Strauss & Co director Susie Goodman recalled how the company’s insurer agreed to provide cover on one strict condition: Alastair could not leave the vehicle.

Hungry and desperate for a comfort break, he stopped at Milly’s and reversed the bakkie as close to the shop as possible. Stretching around the side of the vehicle so that he never quite left it, he managed to buy a pie. The rest of the journey required similarly creative planning.

The painting arrived safely and was put up for auction. Estimated at between R6 million and R8 million, it ultimately sold for close to R21 million – the highest price paid for a Pierneef at the time.

The seller and his wife were in the room. As the bidding climbed, he held her tighter and tighter. By the time the hammer came down, the entire audience knew exactly who owned the painting.

For Susie, however, the real value of the story lies in what happened afterwards. The proceeds helped the family educate a new generation and support community initiatives in the White River area.

“One painting rescued from under a bed changed the future of an entire family,” she said.

More than a number on a catalogue page

As a director of Strauss & Co, one of Africa’s leading art auction houses, Susie works in a world where value can remain hidden until someone with knowledge, curiosity and experience recognises it.

Her lively session at The Insurance Conference Western Cape 2026 offered a glimpse into that world – a place filled with remarkable objects, unpredictable people, occasional mishaps and enormous responsibility.

Strauss & Co sold R435 million’s worth of art in 2025, reaching buyers in 54 countries and handling close to 7 000 items. Its sales range from South African wine worth a few thousand rand to major works of art commanding tens of millions.

Those figures matter, but Susie’s stories revealed what sits behind them.

“People make the art, inherit it, live with it, sell it and buy it,” she said. “Every object arrives with a history, and every transaction has a human context.”

Auction houses frequently meet clients during major life transitions. Art may come to market following a death, divorce, debt, downsizing or a decision to reshape a collection. In these moments, expertise must be accompanied by empathy.

“People often do not know exactly what they have – or what they want to do with it,” Susie explained. “Our job begins with listening.”

Taking African art to the world

Strauss & Co sees itself not only as a South African business but as an African auction house with an international reach.

For Susie, it is important that significant African artworks do not always have to leave the continent to be sold in London or New York. The development of Strauss & Co’s own online auction platform during Covid allowed the company to connect sellers and buyers around the world while conducting sales from Africa.

That leap into virtual auctions produced a few memorable moments.

For an early online ceramic sale, Susie stood in front of a green screen wearing a pink jacket and green shirt. The first artwork projected behind her was a ceramic bull with particularly prominent anatomy. Because of the positioning of the image, she found herself trying to conduct the sale while appearing to have the bull’s testicles superimposed across her chest.

She then noticed that the green screen had made her green sleeves disappear, leaving her hands floating like something from Ghostbusters.

“These,” Susie laughed, “are among the perils of being an auctioneer.”

The humour carries an important truth: progress often requires a willingness to try something unfamiliar, accept that not everything will be perfect and keep going when the result is not quite what anyone imagined.

Protecting more than objects

Behind the spectacle of an auction is a complex web of risk. Strauss & Co may hold art worth around R290 million in any given month. Works can be damaged, lost in transit, moved across borders or discovered to be fake, forged or stolen.

Insurance allows the business to do more than recover financially when something goes wrong. It gives the company the confidence to defend the integrity of the market.

Susie recalled a legal dispute involving a stolen painting from Bloemfontein. Support from Strauss & Co’s insurance partners enabled the company to fight the case rather than walk away from the cost. In a market with limited resources for policing art crime, that support helps auction houses challenge forgery, theft and criminal activity.

“It is not only about insuring an object,” Susie said. “The right partnership allows you to stand up for what is right.”

Insurance also makes it possible to transport artworks for exhibitions that are not linked to sales. This helps Strauss & Co introduce neglected or overlooked artists to new audiences and take art into communities where it may not otherwise be seen.

A business built on trust

The auction world is exciting, dynamic and, at times, slightly chaotic. Yet its foundations are serious: transparency, knowledge, collaboration and trust.

Knowing what an artwork is and what it may be worth allows its owner to insure it, preserve it and plan for its future. Without that knowledge, a treasure can spend decades under a bed, exposed to damp, mice and an unsuspecting foot.

Susie’s stories reminded the audience that insurance works at its best when it enables people and businesses to act with confidence. It protects precious objects, certainly – but it can also protect reputations, preserve cultural history and help transform a discovery into a lasting legacy.