1974 portrait of Nigerian princess smashes estimates at London auction

A long lost portrait of a Nigerian princess found recently in a London flat after being lost for decades exceeded estimates and set a record for its painter when it sold for £1.2m at a London auction.

Described as the “African Mona Lisa”, the painting of Adetutu “Tutu” Ademiluyi, by Ben Enwonwu, a Nigerian artist was expected to fetch up to £300,000 when it went under the hammer at Bonhams auction house but it ended up smashing estimates.

Bonhams described the 1974 as “rare and remarkable” and its director of modern African art, Giles Peppiatt, Bonham said; “The portrait of Tutu is a national icon in Nigeria, and of huge cultural significance.”

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Peppiatt uncovered the work after a family in north London contacted him following recent lucrative sales of Nigerian artworks at auction.

He said the family had been “pretty astounded” to learn it was “a missing masterpiece”. “It is very exciting to have played a part in the discovery and sale of this remarkable work,” he added.

According to Ben Okri, a Booker prize-winning novelist, the painting had taken on almost mythical status in Nigeria, where it was thought of as the African Mona Lisa.

“It has been a legendary painting for 40 years. Everybody keeps talking about Tutu, saying: where is Tutu?” he said after a viewing at Bonhams.

“He wasn’t just painting the girl; he was painting the whole tradition. It’s a symbol of hope and regeneration to Nigeria, it’s a symbol of the phoenix rising,” Okri added.

 

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