Art lovers spend Sh30m a night at Nairobi auction

The painting sparked a six-minute bidding war, making it one of the night’s most fiercely contested lots.

With its auction value put at between Sh1 million and Sh1.5 million, the painting shattered the fences of its valuation as the bidding war raged on.

The Tanzanian artist also had the second most expensive artwork of the night. His 1961 oil-on-canvas painting “Lusiki”, which features a woman in the nude lying on her side, sold for Sh1.6 million after five minutes of topsy-turvy bids. This was the first time “Lusiki” was up for grabs at the event.

The Art Auction East Africa, organised by the Nairobi-based Circle Art Agency in conjunction with South African auction house Strauss & Co, saw collectors and enthusiasts gather in Nairobi’s Kilimani for a night of cut-throat bidding.

With the auction generating more than Sh29 million, it became the highest-grossing art sale of the last three years. In 2024, the organisers said, the auction generated more than Sh27 million.

In 2023, the total sales were Sh23.3 million. Sales for 2022 were above Sh30 million while the 2021 auction netted Sh25.25 million.

During Wednesday’s auction, 66 artworks were up for grabs, with the sales target being Sh27 million. Not only was the target surpassed by at least Sh2.7 million, but also there was a surge in the valuation of some of the items available.

Tanzanian artists bagged the top three slots of the most prized artworks of the night. With Francis claiming the first two, the third spot was taken by Sam Joseph Ntiro with his oil-on-canvas painting “Working in the Fields” estimated to have been done in the 1970s. Sam, who died in 1993, posthumously saw his painting fetch Sh1.3 million.

Francis, on the other hand, studied art at Makerere University, where he was awarded the Trowell Prize for top performance.

He taught art at Nairobi and Kenyatta Universities from 1968 to 1973 before moving to California for 12 years to study on a scholarship. Studying art up to PhD level, he later returned to Kenyatta University where he lectured at the arts department.

The fourth most prized artwork was “Still Life” by Ugandan artist Geoffrey Mukasa, who died in 2009. It sold for Sh1.2 million.

According to the auction organisers, Geoffrey is a Ugandan royalty. He spent part of his childhood in the King’s palace in Buganda. Following the coup of Idi Amin, Geoffrey left Uganda to study fine art at the Lucknow College of Arts and Crafts in India.

Coming fifth was the 2021 acrylic-on-canvas artwork “The Movement of Daisies” by Sudanese artist Miska Mohammed that fetched Sh1.1 million.

The top four top-grossing artworks were in the “rare works” category.

Speaking to the BDLife before the auction, Strauss & Co managing executive director, Susie Goodman, said: “We’re hoping to sell about Sh25 million to Sh26 million worth of art.”

Alastair Meredith, a senior art specialist at Strauss & Co, said there has been little exposure of some of the artists whose works were on offer, meaning not all in the audience appreciated “what artists, what modernists they were”.

Danda Jaroljmek, the director of the Circle Art Agency, who established Art Auction East Africa in 2013 as a platform to cultivate a secondary market for East African artists, said in a press release ahead of the auction that the works on sale, especially those from East Africa, “underscore the breadth of artistic practices over the past six decades”.

While it had earlier been indicated that the oldest item at the auction would be “Lusiki”, buyers were treated to a surprise treat of three paintings from 1926 by South Africa’s Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, who died in 1957.

Two of his works did not meet the reserve price, but one of them, “Mombasa”, sold for Sh446,120. It was done with watercolour and pencil on paper.

Kenyan artists had a night of mixed fortunes at the auction. The Kenyan artist with the most sought-after item for the evening was Justus Kyalo, whose 2021 painting “More Light a Little” fetched Sh1 million after three minutes of bidding.

Justus, who is trained as an illustrator, is a celebrated artist whose work can be found in many collections including KPMG, the French Embassy, Ford Foundation, Safaricom, and the World Bank in Washington.

The second most successful Kenyan was Beatrice Wanjiku, whose 2010 “We Are Who We Are” snapped Sh938,200. Beatrice, an alumna of the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts, has created works that have been exhibited and collected widely.

Another unique Kenyan project was a sculpture made collaboratively by Kenyan sculptor Gakunju Kaigwa and Zimbabwean sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa. Titled “Mami Wata” and made just this year, it fetched Sh692,660, making it among the top 12 sellers of the night.

This was the first time that Strauss & Co was involved in the auction.

“We are especially excited to deepen our engagement with artists, collectors, and institutions in East Africa. Strauss & Co has a global client base, and we are excited at the prospect of taking our clients on this exciting journey,” said Ms Goodman ahead of the auction.

This year’s auction also saw the coming in of an art insurer – iTOO Insurance – that was brought in by Strauss & Co. Gail Bosch, the iTOO Artinsure Product Head, said in a press release that the firm is exploring the East African market.

“With the worldwide popularity of African art, we are looking forward to offering our specialist cover for collectors and fine art dealers to the broader East African and African market and sharing our expertise,” she noted.

→[email protected]

→[email protected]