Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Africa News .




AFRICA NEWS
Africa: 'the next China' for contemporary art
By Cecile DE COMARMOND
Lagos (AFP) May 17, 2015


Giles Peppiatt, from Bonhams in London, had good reason to make the trip to Nigeria's financial capital, Lagos, for the auction house's next sale of African art -- a glut of potential buyers.

On a recent visit, he described Africa as "one of our hottest properties on the art block".

"In some ways, Africa is the new China when it comes to art," he added. "We are investing time, money and people to maintain our presence in this market."

Bonhams has blazed a trail in the sector, having organised its first "Africa Now" sale of modern and contemporary African art in 2007, which has since become an annual event.

Among its most expensive sales was "Arab Priest" (1945) by South African painter Irma Stern, which was bought by the Qatar Museums Authority for just over three million pounds (4.2 million euros, $4.7 million) in 2011.

"New World Map" (2009) -- one of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui's tapestries embroidered from crushed aluminium bottle tops and copper wire -- went for nearly 550,000 pounds the following year.

A series of seven wooden sculptures by Nigeria's Ben Enwonwu fetched 361.250 pounds -- triple the estimate price.

- Increasing interest -

Leading African artists were virtually absent from art sales just a decade ago but now contemporary works feature strongly in sales at several international auction houses.

Another El Anatsui tapestry sold for $1.4 million at Sotheby's.

"When institutions such as the Tate (in London) and the Smithsonian (in Washington DC) start to acquire contemporary African art, one then knows something wonderful has occurred," said Peppiatt.

On the back of successful sales in recent years, Bonhams is specialising even more this year, with a selection of modern art going under the hammer this month and contemporary art in October.

In Africa, the Zinsou foundation's museum of contemporary African art in Ouidah, Benin, and and the forthcoming opening of the huge Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art in Cape Town, South Africa, are clear signs of the increasing interest of collectors.

Most of the buyers at Bonhams' "Africa Now" sales are African, explained Peppiatt.

"A lot of collectors are very wealthy Nigerian businessmen," he added.

- Culture and heritage -

"Nigerian art collectors want a piece of their own culture and heritage and are prepared to invest in that," added Bonhams' representative in Lagos, Neil Coventry.

"What's fascinating is that these pieces are being found all over the world. In some cases they are coming back to Nigeria where they are valued and appreciated the most."

Coventry, whose living room walls at his house overlooking the Lagos lagoon are covered with major Nigerian works of art, cites the example of Enwonwu.

The painter and sculptor, who died in 1994, was once as famous a name in Nigeria as Britain, where he was notably the first black African artist commissioned to make a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II in 1957.

But his name was forgotten and only rediscovered in recent years.

"He was an international artist and Africa's premier modern artist," said Coventry.

"Collectors who bought pieces by Enwonwu early in his career are now getting older and those who have inherited works may have no idea of the value of what they have.

"This rediscovery of Ben Enwonwu's works is amazing."

- Positive image -

Ten years ago, Enwonwu's works sold for several hundred dollars but are now fetching hundreds of thousands at auction.

Nevertheless, said Coventry, his work "is still massively under-valued, which is quite unique for an artist who was so accomplished during his own lifetime".

Femi Lijadu is one of several art collectors who will make the trip from Lagos to London for the auction on May 20 and has already pinpointed Nigerian works "at affordable prices".

He will be in the British capital because he is proud of the image the major artists portray of his country.

Lijadu, a corporate lawyer, has some 500 pieces in his collection and remembers the time he began earning a living in the 1980s and buying pictures by the "Grand Masters" of Nigeria.

"At the time we dreamt of the day where the world would finally start to take notice of Nigerian and African art in general," he remembered with a smile.

Judging by the scale of the auction, that day has arrived.

cdc/phz/ns/kb

Sotheby's


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





AFRICA NEWS
Algeria army kills two armed Islamists: ministry
Algiers (AFP) May 12, 2015
Soldiers killed two armed Islamists during an ambush Tuesday southwest of Algeria's capital, the government said, as media reported that four security personnel were slain in the east. "An army detachment killed two terrorists today at 3:00 pm, following an ambush carried out near the locality of Amrouna, south of Ain Defla," said the defence ministry. A Kalashnikov assault rifle was sei ... read more


AFRICA NEWS
Soil security and the threat to soil productivity

Humans, livestock in Kenya linked in sickness and in health

Gene required for plant growth at warmer temperatures discovered

World population-food supply balance is becoming increasingly unstable

AFRICA NEWS
Dissecting the ocean to learn where the heat, energy and nutrients go

Taiwan lifts water rationing as drought eases

Solving corrosive ocean mystery reveals future climate

Mate competition weeds out GM fish from population

AFRICA NEWS
Warm oceans caused hottest Dust Bowl years in 1934/36

England set for 'substantial increase' in record-breaking warm years

Australia PM advisor says climate change a UN-led ruse

Heat saps Australian workers' productivity: study

AFRICA NEWS
Carbon price vital for zero-emission goal: World Bank

Global carbon dioxide levels reach new monthly record

Unexplained gap in global emissions of potent greenhouse gases resolved

Berkeley Lab researchers find that saving energy is still cheap

AFRICA NEWS
A model for bioenergy feedstock/vegetable double-cropping systems

WSU researchers produce jet fuel compounds from fungus

For biofuels and climate, location matters

Ethanol may release more of some pollutants than previously thought

AFRICA NEWS
Migrants in Indonesia could spend months in Aceh camps: IOM

Rescuers battle to reach survivors of new Nepal quake

Australia to commit extra $63 million to MH370 search

MH370 search finds uncharted shipwreck

AFRICA NEWS
Clean air power plan hinges on key policy decisions

Greenpeace says India office may close within a month

US-backed drug spraying triggers health fears in Colombia

Hungary orders clean-up of 'catastrophic' disused chemical plant

AFRICA NEWS
China to invest $50 billion in Brazil

Japan current account surplus surges in March

Indian PM Modi leaves for China with trade on mind

Chinese turn Paris suburb into Europe's biggest fashion market




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.