”Christine”, a painting by Nigerian artiste Ben Enwonwu sells for $1.4million at auction.
Christine is a portrait of Christine Davis who moved to Nigeria with her husband and became friends with Ben Enwonwu
A painting called ”Christine” by the late Nigerian master painter and sculptor Ben Enwonwu was sold for £1.1million ($1.4million) in October 2019 at an auction in the British capital, London. The portrait of Christine was completed in 1971 and is that of Christine Davis, an American hairstylist who moved to Lagos with her British husband and struck up a friendship with the painter.
Ben Enwonwu (1917-1994) was a modernist Nigerian sculptor and painter. He was born a twin on 14th July 1917 into the noble family of Umueze-Aroli in Onitsha, Nigeria. He died on 5th February 1994 at age 76. Ben Enwonwu is arguably regarded as the most influential African artist of the 20th century.The international media has celebrated him as “Africa’s Greatest Artist” since 1950. He was one of the first African artists to win critical acclaim, having exhibited in Europe and the United States in august exhibition spaces and listed in international directories of contemporary art. His work opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of modern African art, and his fame was used to gather global support for Black Nationalists movement.
Christine is however not his most expensive painting. In 2018, another of his painting called ”Tutu”, a portrait of the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi which went missing since 1975 but rediscovered in 2017, was sold for £1.2million ($1.8million) in an auction held by Bonhams. Popularly known as the ”African Mona Lisa”, Tutu is one of three potrait made by the painter and is regarded as Nigerian national icon. It is also considered a symbol of reconciliation between the government and Biafran separatists after the civil war. Other notable works include the Portrait of Chief Candido Joao Da Rocha (1951), Bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II (1956) and Sango: the Yoruba god of lightning and thunder (1964). It is also interesting to know that a crater called ”Enwonwu” on planet Mercury is named after Ben Enwonwu.
