Sotheby’s is delighted to present their March sale of Modern & Contemporary African Art, with an exhibition opening on Friday the 15th of March 2024 at 34-35 New Bond Street in London. This is ahead of an on-live auction on Thursday the 21st of March 2024. From ground-breaking pieces by pioneering masters, to exciting works by emerging contemporary talents, this auction showcases the vibrant narratives and diverse expressions of creativity from African artists. Highlights include outstanding works by Alexis Preller, Irma Stern, Amoako Boafo, Gerard Sekoto, Ben Enwonwu, Mohamed Melehi, Ouattara Watts, Vladmir Tretchikoff, J.H Pierneef, and Sydney Kumalo among others.
Leading this season’s curated selection is Alexis Preller’s masterpiece titled Portrait of the Artist as a Visionary (est. £200,000-300,000). This piece was originally included in Preller’s 1972 retrospective in Pretoria and has clearly been revisited since then, with additions including a kingfisher and an apple. The former symbolises both mortality and immortality and the latter represents knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin. South Africa’s Gauguin’ as Preller was affectionately called, his work is currently the subject of an in-depth retrospective at the Norval Foundation in Cape Town.
Accompanying this portrait are two works by another South African Master, Irma Stern. Hamida Hamed (est. £40,000-60,000) is a fresh-to-market work from the artist’s famous 1945 visit to Zanzibar. It is a sumptuous portrait of a local Muslim lady in repose, and is accompanied by a serene still life featuring two of the artist’s favourite subjects Watermelon and Dahlias (est. £100,000-150,000) against a luminous turquoise background.
These works share the spotlight with Sydney Kumalo’s iconic St Francis (est. £30,000-50,000) sculpture. Property of a distinguished private collection, this important sculpture depicting St Francis of Assisi – patron saint of animals and the environment is one of Kumalo’s most recognised and sought-after sculptures. Conceived in 1962 and cast by Vignali Foundary (Pretoria) for Egon Guenther Gallery (Johannesburg), Kumalo expertly marries both Christian and African symbolism, to not only capture the compassion of the revered saint, but also the strength of the South African people.
Following this work is Acacia Trees in the Veld (est. £30,000-50,000), a perfect example of Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s famed bushveld scenes. Over the course of his long and hallowed career, which mirrored the rise of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa in the wake of independence from the British, Pierneef’s elegant and simplified portrayals would come to define South African landscape painting of that period.
Finally, Sotheby’s is thrilled to share a remarkable fresh to market painting by renowned Nigerian modernist Ben Enwonwu, titled Africa Dances (est. £50,000-70,000). This captivating painting offers a glimpse into Enwonwu’s perspective on rapidly evolving modern Nigerian culture, utilising symbolic imagery from his Onitsha-Igbo heritage, particularly in scenes of dance and ritual performance.
