Almost hidden among the headline pieces at last night's Strauss & Co auction - including the seemingly ever-popular Irma Stern, William Kentridge, JH Pierneef and Walter Battiss works - there was a hint of something new. T There were an unprecedented eight works by Robert Hodgins for sale.His works have certainly become must-haves for collectors of contemporary South African art and the number on auction was probably attributable to April's record-breaking price for a Hodgins work, just short of R2.6-million.So their prominence was not altogether surprising but there was an important difference in the works on sale last night.Among them were two early works. One, Hidden Man, dates back to the late 1950s or early 1960s, and the other, Man with a Cup, is from the early 1970s.Hodgins became known only late in his career. He became a full-time artist only at the age of 63 after a long career as an art teacher.Hodgins's last exhibition was in 2009. He died at 89 in 2010.He developed an instantly recognisable style, using bold colours and often portrayed grotesque, distorted, almost cartoonish figures.The early works are quite different. In the case of Hidden Man it is almost unrecognisable, but his early work will remain a curiosity among Hodgins collectors for some time...