LOOK: SA woman sells record-breaking painting for R230m
South African artist Marlene Dumas has broken the record for the most expensive painting sold by a living female artist.
South Africa has just added another record-breaking resident to our long list of global achievers.
Artist Marlene Dumas set the record for the most expensive work by a living female artist when her painting, 'Miss January' (1997), was sold at auction.
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'Miss January' went to an anonymous bidder who bought the painting for $13.6 million (around R230 million), including fees.
The art piece was sold at Christie's auction in New York on Wednesday, 14 May.
According to ARTnews, the bidding opened at $9 million and closed at $11.5 million before fees.
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"Set to become the highest price ever paid for a living female artist this 20th/21st Century Art season, Dumas’ painting triumphantly masters and reclaims the female form," wrote the British auction house in a post about the painting.
Watch here:
Marlene Dumas’ ‘Miss January’ has set a new #WorldRecord price achieved for any living female artist. The towering portrait of the beauty queen achieves US$13,635,000 during tonight’s 21st Century Evening Sale. pic.twitter.com/BnNbvuB0rr
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 14, 2025
"Dumas started exploring and scrutinising the female form at age 10, with a drawing called 'Miss World,' which depicted idolised glamour models.
"Over 30 years later, she returned to the subject with 'Miss January' (1997), a portrait that threads the line between revealing and concealing, and serves as perhaps the best example of her influential female portraiture," reports ARTnews.
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Image: iStock