Notes

Ben Enwonwu was born in 1917 in eastern Nigeria. Not only a giant of Nigerian modernism, Enwonwu became one of Africa’s most influential painters and sculptors. After attending Government College in 1934, he received scholarships to study at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School in London. After returning to Nigeria in 1948 as the Art Supervisor of the Colonial Office, in 1955 Enwonwu was awarded the MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the arts. He also became the first African artist to receive a royal commission, sculpting a likeness of the Queen that was unveiled at the Royal Society of British Artists in 1957. In 1960, the year in which the present lot was painted, Nigeria gained its independence. Enwonwu, inevitably, helped the country start to define its postcolonial identity. Path Through Trees is the first example by the artist to appear in a South African saleroom.