Robert Saidi

Of African Beauty

About the Session

NAIROBI – Following their successful collaboration in 2025, Strauss & Co, Africa’s leading auction house, and Danda Jaroljmek, Director of Art Auction East Africa, will present Art Auction East Africa | Strauss & Co, a 67-lot sale bringing together modern and contemporary art from East Africa and the wider continent. The live-virtual sale will be held at Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi on Wednesday, 28 October, 2026, 7pm EAT. The catalogue spans a diversity of East African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, alongside works by artists from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Nigeria. Works on paper, photography and sculpture complements the strong painting consignment. “The selection invites collectors to discover East Africa’s diverse modernist histories, particularly those beyond the Anglophone world,” says Susie Goodman. “In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in East African modernists, with artists associated with the Khartoum School shown in museums and fairs globally. Our work as an auction house rooted in Africa is ensuring this rediscovery is not temporary. We are delighted to partner with Danda Jaroljmek in cultivating a sustainable secondary market for East African modernists active during the era of decolonisation and independence.” A preview exhibition will be held at Circle Art Gallery, Victoria Square, Riara Road, Nairobi, during the two weeks preceding the auction on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.


Sold For

KES 469 600
Lot 8
  • Robert Saidi; Of African Beauty
  • Robert Saidi; Of African Beauty
  • Robert Saidi; Of African Beauty
  • Robert Saidi; Of African Beauty

LOT 8

Robert Saidi

Of African Beauty
Lot Estimate Change Currency
KES 400 000 - 600 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
KES 469 600
Location
Nairobi, Kenya
Shipping
Condition Report
May include additional detailed images
Auction Catalogue

About this Item

Congolese 1936-
Of African Beauty
1995

signed and dated 95

acrylic on board
50 by 30cm excluding frame; 81,5 by 60,5 by 3,5cm including frame

Provenance

Private Collection.

Notes

Robert Saidi was born in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1963, he graduated from the University of Kinshasa, where he had studied French History, African Culture and Linguistics. Moving to Kampala, he developed his art practice as a painter whilst working as a lecturer in Lingala studies at Makerere University.

Many of Saidi’s paintings are tender portraits of women, often dressed in traditional garments and performing acts of care or embracing moments of leisure.

In 1977 he became a full-time artist and since then has exhibited in Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, the USA and the UK, as well as frequently in Kampala.

Biography courtesy of Circle Art Gallery

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