Held in its London offices this April, the fourth edition of Sotheby’s auction of
Modern and Contemporary African Art included 44 works by artists from across the
continent totalling £2.3 million. Of the 75 lots offered this year by the American
owned company, over 90% were new to auction.
The big sell of the day went to Zebra Crossing 2 by El Anatsui, a masterwork of
spatial ephemerality which sold for £1.1 million (est. £550,000-750,000) in a
special year for the artist whose current retrospective, at Germany’s Haus der
Kunst, is the largest ever for any black artist. Titled “El Anatsui: Triumphant
Scale”, it is curated by Professor Chika Okeke-Agulu, a professor of art and
archaeology at Princeton University, USA and Okwui Enwezor, the great Nigerian
curator whose death in March – shortly before the exhibition opened – has
received a flood of tributes from the world of contemporary African art.
Made in 2007, the triumph of Zebra Crossing 2 at this month’s auction does not
reflect Anatsui’s stature and this is emphasised by Hannah O’Leary, Head of
Modern and Contemporary African Art at Sotheby’s who says he is “one of the
greatest artists living today in Africa and out of Africa”
.
Hassan El Glaoui’s panoramic splendor of a king’s enthronement, La Sortie du
Roi, was the second biggest sale at £137 500; a new auction record for the
Moroccan artist who is regarded as one of the founders of modernism in North
Africa. His daughter, Touria El Glaoui, is the founder of 1-54 Contemporary
African Art Fair held annually in New York, London and Marrakech.Of the eight works by Congo’s Cheri Samba offered for sale, two are titled J’aime
la couleur and both are self-portraits of the artist from his “Ribbon Head Series”
with the only significant difference being the dates of creation and colour
choices. One with a blue background, dated 2004, was estimated at £20 000 – 30
000 while the second, with a black background, was placed at £40 000 – 60 000
and became the third biggest sale at £93 750 on account of its rarity, especially
given the artist’s voluminous output and prominence as a co-founder of the
influential “Popular Painting” movement in Congo.
It is not known if other versions of J’aime la couleur exists and despite Samba’s
prolificity, there isn’t a catalogue raisonne of his works which is the case for
many African artists. An annotated survey of an artist’s works requires
considerable time, money and expertise and “to be blunt” says O’Leary “a lot of
African artists have not been studied in these institutions and academic venues,
like Oxford University, that are creating catalog raisonnes. That is changing”.
The rise in appreciation of any set of works helps to secure the substantial grants
needed for such levels of scholarly attention. Market value is another important
factor. A catalogue raisonne on Picasso or Monet or other artists whose works sell
in the millions is very well justified says O’Leary “because that is going to be a
very valuable tool every time you sell one of those paintings. If an artist is worth
considerably less, then maybe it’s a little more difficult to justify such an
extensive study of their work but it is needed and i do see changes afoot on that
side”.Kamala Ishaq’s Preparation of Incense – Zar Ceremony did not sell which was a
surprise considering the artist’s reputation as a pioneering member of Sudan’s art
scene. O’Leary is of the belief that “in years to come, people will realise what a
missed opportunity that was”. This could very well be the case. The Zar ceremony
is a traditional exorcism of “evil spirits” said to possess women and the painting’s
contorted mass of 11 images in levitative state, as depicted by Ishaq, is a ready
draw for feminist interpretations.
Two lots – Dancing Couple by South Africa’s Dumile Feni and Untitled, New York,
1992 by Ivory Coast’s Ouattara Watts – were offered without reserve with sales
starting at £100. There was some psychological thrill at play. Rather than
discourage buyers who might equate the low price with regard for the artist or
the work, even more bids were placed on both lots than any others in the entire
sale.
O’Leary is proud of that fact that Sotheby’s represents more African countries
than any other contemporary art auction, the world over. The company’s
strongest sales are from buyers in South Africa as well as Nigeria which she says is
“one of the more exciting countries. The market there is growing faster than
anywhere else. There’s a huge appetite for art collecting in Lagos which really
excites me”. O’Leary’s plans for future Sotheby’s auctions, the next of which is in
October later this year, is clear and ambitious: “I want this to be a market like
any other where there are many artists making over a million pounds, not just a
handful”.