Sotheby’s London is set to hold its Modern and Contemporary African Art Auction taking place at its New Bond St Galleries come September 27. Using an on-live sale format the auction will feature a diverse array of artworks, from significant pieces by established masters to innovative creations by emerging artists. According to a statement from Sotheby’s, notable highlights include works by Ben Enwonwu, Uche Okeke, Gerard Sekoto, Atta Kwami, J.
D Okhai Ojeikere, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Ablade Glover. “At the forefront of this season’s auction are two remarkable works by renowned Nigerian modernist Ben Enwonwu, both executed on the eve of Nigeria’s independence in 1959: ‘Nigerian Beauty’ and ‘The Emir in Council’. Together with ‘Royal Dance, Benin’, these newly discovered masterpieces perfectly highlight Enwonwu’s role in championing a cultural postcolonial rebirth and forging a new visual language that affirmed and celebrated Nigeria’s indigenous identity.
“Also featured in the auction is Gerard Sekoto’s ‘Portrait of a Boy’. Executed shortly after the artist’s arrival in Paris, ‘Portrait of a Boy’ by South Africa’s foremost modernist was gifted to the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in 1959 by Dr. & Mrs.
Edgar Berman of Baltimore, Maryland. One of four works by the artist in the auction, Sekoto’s work is centred on the exploration the human spirit through the lens of social realism, acting as windows int.