Modern and Contemporary African Art Online
Modern and Contemporary African Art Online
BEN ENWONWU | THE ORATOR
Lot Closed
March 31, 01:15 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
BEN ENWONWU
Nigerian
1921-1994
THE ORATOR
signed and dated 1954 (lower right)
gouache and pencil on paper
59 by 44cm., 23¼ by 17¼in.
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Private Collection, Nigeria
The subject of this portrait, with his classic orator's pose and distinctive tribal marks, bears a strong resemblance to politician Samuel Ladoke Akintola (1910-1966). In 1954, when this lot was painted, Akintola would have been deputy leader of the Action Group party under Obafemi Awolowo; he was later Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria from 1960 until his death in the first Nigerian military coup on 15 January 1966.