Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa

Timed Online Auction, 13 - 28 February 2023

Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa
About the Session

Including Property of Collectors and The Harry Kantor Collection.

Harry Kantor (1934-2019), a Capetonian, moved to Harare in the late 1950s. He supported local art institutions such as the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and Gallery Delta, serving as Chairman of both institutions. He promoted Zimbabwe's artists globally and amassed over 300 works, including European and indigenous African painters, Victorian and Chinese pieces. His collection includes significant roots of early Zimbabwean painting. Five paintings from his collection are on display at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Arts' exhibition "When We See Us", featuring African figurative art.

Lots 51-62 can be viewed on our current Timed Online Auction, and lot 75 in our Curatorial Voices Auction, both taking place on the 28th of February.


Sold for

ZAR 4 690
Lot 36
  • Cecil Skotnes; Reclining Female Figure
  • Cecil Skotnes; Reclining Female Figure
  • Cecil Skotnes; Reclining Female Figure


Lot Estimate
ZAR 4 000 - 6 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 4 690

About this Item

South African 1926-2009
Reclining Female Figure

signed, dated 1973, and numbered 25/30

linocut on paper
plate size: 8 by 14cm; sheet size: 49 by 33cm; 57 by 40 by 2cm including frame

Notes

Known as an artist, mentor, and teacher, Cecil Skotnes believed in nurturing talent and encouraging creativity. Born in East London, the son of Norwegian missionaries, Skotnes studied Fine Arts at Wits University after WWII. In 1952, he was employed to run the Polly Street recreation centre, which became the only art school available to black students in South Africa; training Sydney Kumalo and Ephraim Ngatane, among others. Encouraged by friend and mentor Egon Guenther, Skotnes turned his hand to woodcarving and produced many ground-breaking coloured carved panels and woodcut prints, often with images of neglected South African histories. He carried out significant public commissions, sometimes in collaboration with other artists such as Sydney Kumalo. Skotnes is remembered for his artistic innovation and major contribution to the diversity of South African art.

Provenance

Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, 2011.

Property of Collectors.

View all Cecil Skotnes lots for sale in this auction