Nigerian artworks have made history in a London auction garnering N568, 338,750 (£1,159,875) gross realised sale from the works of three renowned artists.
The auction for works by some African leading artists, which held at the Bonhams Africa Now – Modern Africa Sale in London on May 25, 2016, witnessed a host of new world records as Ben Enwonwu, El Anatsui, and Yusuf Grillo accounted for the top 10 lots sold in a sale which made a total of £2,000,000.
However, Ben Enwonwu; a celebrated Nigerian cum African great modern artist, led the record breaking auction sale with a staggering £836,875 winning bid for his works.
The artworks also sold for double the amounts earlier estimated by Bonhams. His ‘Spirit of Ogolo’ sold for £218,500 against an estimated £100,000-150,000, and becoming the highest ever price paid for an oil painting by the Nigerian artist. Also, ‘Negritide’, another work by Enwonwu, achieved a world record for a work by him on paper when it was sold for £86,500 (£20,000-30,000), while his ‘African Woman’, sold for £170,500.
In the same vein, El Anatsui’s ‘Used Towel’ sold for £176,500 (earlier estimated for £50,000-80,000), establishing a new record at the auction for a wooden sculpture by the Ghanaian sculptor trained in Nigeria and beating the previous record set at Bonhams in 2015.
Also, ‘Mother of Twins’ by Yusuf Grillo, another Nigerian artist, was bought for £146,500 against its estimate of £35,000-50,000, and again setting a new world record at auction for a work by the painter.
Reacting to the feats achieved by the works of the artists, Giles Peppiatt, director, African Art at Bonhams, said, “The outstanding success of this sale – in all ten new world records were set – shows that the appetite among collectors for the very best of African Modern art is extremely strong. The bidding was intense throughout the sale with fierce competition for the leading lots. The strength and depth among African Modern and Contemporary artists promises much for the future.”
The growing value for Enwonwu’s works, according to Peppiatt, is because ‘Enwonwu is the ultimate African modernist, who also draws deeply from Igbo culture, and this sculpture has a real sense of pride and grace to it. “We are delighted to offer Enwowu’s iconic works at a time when the demand for African modern and contemporary art is booming,” Peppiatt said.
Commenting on the development, Sandra Obiagor, curator, Temple Muse, Victoria Island Lagos, expressed her happiness that Nigerian art masters were given their proper value within the international art space. I hope the prices will continue to rise in art auctions because the Bonhams auction sales has once again confirmed that art has value even as an investment vehicle,” Obiago said.
Ohie Ujah, an art collector, noted that the feat Nigerian artworks achieved at the London auction is a boost to further buy artworks, as time has proven that they are investments with growing values.
For Mukanda Ehis, a visual artist, the legendary artists and their works are worth the value. But the achievement is a clarion call for contemporary artists in Nigeria to improve on their craft, especially now that art is paying in order to sustain the quality of work of some of the master artists.
OBINNA EMELIKE
