Bonhams Auctions Africa Now Top Art Sale

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944), New World Map, aluminum bottle caps, and copper wire 340 x 500cm (133 7/8 x 196 7/8in) Detail. Sold for £541,250 (US$ 801,221) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams Auctions Africa Now

ART AUCTION: Bonhams Auctions Africa Now top art sale in the last six years shows the remarkable progress made by African artists in the global art market and at the Africa Now auction.

BY KAZEEM ADELEKE

LONDON- Six years after Africa Now started, Bonhams Auctions continues to expand its sale of modern and contemporary African Art.  Early this year, the auction house divided the Africa Now auction into two to facilitate interest in African art and as well as attract more art collectors. The division focuses on two major areas: Modern African Art and Contemporary African Art. The first part, Africa Now-Modern Africa, happened in May this year.

Top Art Sale at Bonhams Auctions Africa Now

Some of the artists whose works were in the Modern African Art sale at Bonhams Auctions in London included El Anatsui, Ben Enwonwu, Yusuf Grillo, and several others.  The top-selling work was Anyanwu Simplified, a sculpture by Ben Enwonwu.  Anyanwu Simplified is a variation of the bronze sculpture that the artist produced for the National Museum of Lagos in 1958.  It went for £74,500 (US$ 117,300) including premium.

The second installment of the new Africa Now auction will come up on October 15, 2015, in London.  Works by famous contemporary African artists, including  El Anatsui, Chéri Samba, Maïmouna Guerresi, Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, Juliet Ezenwa Maja-Pearce, Peju Alatise, and Barthélémy Toguo, will feature prominently at this Bonhams first contemporary African art sale.

Bonhams Auctions’ new initiative with the Africa Now project was engendered by the success recorded over the years and the growing, vibrant market for African art.

Since it started in 2009, Bonhams Auctions of Africa Now has brought Modern and Contemporary African Art to the center of the global art market. The enthusiasm and intensity of emerging and established art collectors to add exceptional works by famous African artists to their collections has led to many record auction prices. Many emerging African artists have also benefited from the vibrant African art market. Here are four of the top works by African artists that achieved world records over the last six years of Bonhams Auctions Africa Now art auction.

2013 Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu’s Mirror Sculptures sold for £360,000

Woman with Gele, 2014, by Nigerian artist Yusuf Grillo sold for £81,000

World Records achieved by works of famous African artists at Bonhams Auctions Africa Now:

1. 2011 South African artist Irma Stern’s Arab Priest sold for £3.04 million
2. 2012 Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s New World Map sold for £550,000
3. 2013 Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu’s Mirror Sculptures sold for £360,000
4. 2014 Nigerian artist Yusuf Grillo’s Woman with Gele sold for £81,000

A Moment in History

In 2011, South African artist Irma Stern’sArab Priestsold for £3.04 million at Bonhams Auctions, becoming the most expensive work of art by an African artist to be sold at the Africa Now auction.

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