Strauss & Co’s May programme places photography firmly in focus, building its upcoming online auctions and events around the medium at a time when image-making feels more present in daily life than ever. It is an interesting moment to return to photography as a collectible form, especially as the ease of taking and sharing images has, in some ways, softened how we think about its value.
That tension sits quietly in the background of the sale. Photography remains one of the most accessible mediums in how it is made and how it is experienced, yet its strongest practitioners continue to push it far beyond documentation. In South Africa, this plays out in a particularly layered way. The country has a deep history of photojournalism and social documentary but also a generation of artists working across portraiture, conceptual practice and staged imagery. The market has not always kept pace with that richness, which, for collectors, opens up a space that feels approachable and full of depth.
It’s within this context that Strauss & Co presents Framing a New Nation: The Garth Walker Photography Collection and Other Properties. Drawn from the personal archive of designer and photographer Garth Walker, the sale offers a thoughtful look at contemporary South African photography through the lens of someone who has been closely involved in shaping the country’s visual culture. Walker came to prominence in the 1990s through his studio, Orange Juice Design, and later through i-jusi, the influential magazine he founded in 1995. Initially focused on graphic design and typography, the publication increasingly made space for photography, introducing audiences to artists such as Roger Ballen and David Goldblatt, and building a following that extended well beyond South Africa.
His approach to collecting has been similarly intuitive. Over the past two decades, he has brought together works that reflect the country’s documentary traditions and its more contemporary expressions. The sale includes names such as Pieter Hugo, Zanele Muholi and Guy Tillim, alongside photojournalists Jodi Bieber and Greg Marinovich. There is also an international thread running through the collection, with works by Stephen Shore and Rosalind Fox Solomon, adding a broader perspective without losing the local focus.
One of the more compelling aspects of the auction is the inclusion of the i-jusi Portfolios #1, #2 and #3. Originally produced to support the magazine’s independent publishing model, they now read as time capsules of a particular moment in post-apartheid visual culture, when photography was actively helping to shape new narratives and identities.
The programme also makes space for the Patricia Fine Art Collection, assembled by former Cape Town mayor Patricia Fine. Her collection carries a quieter sort of significance, shaped by a period of political and social transition in South Africa. Fine, who welcomed Nelson Mandela to the City Hall balcony in 1994, collected works that reflect that moment of change, many of them closely tied to the Cape’s artistic community.
Alongside the auctions, Strauss & Co’s May Art Club, taking place in Cape Town on May 5, offers a more informal way into the medium. Led by art specialist Leigh Leyde and social media manager Amy Coningsby, the session looks at what makes a photograph resonate, balancing technical insight with a hands-on workshop. There is also a light competitive element, with a photography challenge on the night and a voucher prize for the standout image.
