By Nii B. Andrews.
Last Tuesday’s CAA sale at SOTHEBY’S in London was the auction house’s fifth in the category.
There were 100 works from 56 artists originating from 20 African countries.
The sale realized USD 5.1m which was almost 50% higher than the pre sale high estimate of USD 3.5m.
Now for some highlights.
All 10 lots on offer by Ben Enwonwu sold for a combined amount of USD 2.3m. This included the portrait CHRISTINE (featured here).
It fetched USD 1.4m – that is more than 5 times its pre sale estimate.
There were over half a dozen pieces from Ghana that sold.
El Anatsui’s PILGRIMS from 1991 sold for USD 111.4K; Ibrahim Mahama’s MTN ERO for USD 35K and ABOABO TAXI-DRIVERS UNION by Ato Delaquis, for USD 6K.
Two Ablade Glover pieces from 2016; PEOPLE and MARKETSCAPE sold for USD 35K and USD 22.3K respectively.
The former, PEOPLE sold for almost 40% more than the high end of its pre sale estimate.
There were three equestrian paintings by Hassan El Glaoui (featured here) on sale; all were sold with the highest amount of USD54K paid for FANTASIA HORSEMEN.
The painting ON RED #1 from 1963 by Mohamed Melehi (featured here) fetched USD 95.4K, which was more than nine times its presale estimate.
For collectors with not so deep pockets, there were also quality pieces available.
Two pieces by the late Mozambican artist Ernesto Shikhani – a painting UNTITLED 1995 and a wooden sculpture OWL were sold for USD 1.9K and USD 1.6K respectively.
“If today’s auction confirms anything, it’s the position of African art as one of the most eclectic and exciting areas of the global art market today,” said Hannah O’Leary, Sotheby’s head of modern and contemporary African art.
She continued, “I encourage collectors and art lovers across the globe to watch this space as works by such incredibly talented artists continue to capture the attention of the art world.”
All the above mentioned artists except for Shikhani have been featured on this site.
The majority of the artists whose work was sold at the auction have also been featured in our blog posts during the last 30 months.
We intend to keep showcasing all the exciting talent and developments in CAA since we promote and enjoy CAA as a fun filled, capital asset of outstanding aesthetic and intellectual value…..for BEAUTY FULL people.
Have an artsy weekend folks!
