BEN ENWONWU | AFRICA DANCES

Private Collection, Nigeria

Ben Enwonwu was a pioneer of African modernism. Born in Onitsha in southern Nigeria, he studied fine arts at the Government College in 1934, before receiving a scholarship to study in the UK in 1944, where he attended Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts. During this time, he engaged with the international art world, studying modern European art movements such as Symbolism and Fauvism. In 1946 he exhibited alongside prominent European modernists at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, where he briefly shared a studio with the South African artist Gerard Sekoto..

On his return to Nigeria in 1948, Enwonwu became Artist Adviser to the Federal Government. Among his many accolades, Enwonwu was awarded an MBE in 1955 by Queen Elizabeth II, and the following year he became the first African artist to receive a royal commission when she sat for a large bronze sculpture, now at the entrance to the Parliament Buildings in Lagos. By 1970, when the present lot was painted, Enwonwu was internationally recognised as Nigeria's premier artist.

Enwonwu first embarked on his Africa Dances series during his time in London, in reaction to Geoffrey Gorer’s 1935 book of the same name. The book critiques colonial rule and its impact on traditional life in Africa. In the Africa Dances series, Enwonwu illustrates his own views on the state of modern Nigerian culture at the time, using symbolic imagery in scenes of dance, and ritual performance from his Onitsha-Igbo heritage. Enwonwu revisited the theme throughout his career, exploring a range of dance forms, from masquerade and traditional ceremonies, to modern dance and performance. Other paintings in the series include Africa Dances/Agbogho Mmuo (1949) and Dancing Girls (1951-54).

By 1970 the series had taken on another dimension in Enwonwu’s quest to represent modern Nigeria. Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960, and with it the country was in search of a new post-colonial identity. Enwonwu advocated a new modern Nigerian national culture, and it was in this context that Enwonwu created Africa Dances (1970), illustrating his views on modernity and tradition. The woman in the foreground represents the new Nigeria, with her modern hairstyle and dress, she leans forward, performing a delicate dance. Permeated with rich tones of blue and green, the present lot displays Enwonwu’s maturity as a colourist, as well as a mastery of form and composition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sylvester O. Ogbechie, Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist, Rochester, 2008, p.155