Art For South Africa: The Mimi Coertse Collection

Few know that she was also an avid art collector. Her voice exemplified the misfortunes of many well-known female roles in the best-loved operas: the perturbation of Lucia; the despair of Norma; the sorrow of Konstanze; the dirge of Violetta. 

All these and many more captured audiences all over the world. She sang in no fewer than 29 operas in her lifetime, on world stages in Austria – her favourite, the Viennese Opera House – Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, England, France, Hungary and the United States. 

Small wonder that Mimi’s taste in art reflects a proclivity for women artists: Cecil Higgs, Irma Stern, Maud Sumner, and Marjorie Wallace, certainly her favourites. The Sumner, the jewel in the crown of her art collection, dating from the artist’s most fruitful sojourn in Paris in the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s, depicts Sumner’s typical subject matter of the time: intimate interiors with a model surrounded by an abundant flower still-life on the table in front of her. Other notables in the Mimi Coertse collection include such artists as Walter Battiss, Carl Büchner, W.H. Coetzer, and Maurice van Essche. 

After Mimi’s permanent return to South Africa in the 1970s, her ‘Voice’ contributed in a significant way to the building of a new South Africa. She knew Nelson Mandela well and was honoured by the ANC. Even though her music room in Waterkloof, Pretoria was burned down by cowardly white racists, she initiated various projects that promoted opportunities especially for singers of other races in the country. Her involvement with Afrikaans literature is also legendary. A true icon with an iconic art collection.

Strauss & Co is pleased to announce details for High Note, a live-virtual auction of modern and contemporary art to be held on Tuesday, 22 July 2025 at 7pm. The sale, part of a trio planned for July, features a small consignment of eight works from the personal collection  Mimi Coertse, alongside notable works by William Kentridge, J.H. Pierneef and Lady Skollie.

Video on Mimi Coertse-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InF_rXUuzUg

UPCOMING EVENTS

Johannesburg Preview Weekend

Strauss & Co, 89 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg

Join Strauss & Co specialists for a walkabout and preview of the upcoming Johannesburg Auctions of Modern and Contemporary Art & Contemporary South Africa Ceramics.

Saturday, 19 July 2025 – RSVP

Sunday, 20 July 2025 – RSVP

Live Virtual Auctions

Watch the auctions in person at Strauss & Co in Johannesburg or online. 

Strauss & Co, 89 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg

Contemporary South African Ceramics: New Perspectives

Tuesday, 22 July 2025 at 2pm

High Note: Modern and Contemporary Art including works from the Mimi Coertse Collection

Tuesday, 22 July 2025 at 7pm

Visit www.straussart.co.za to discover more.