Notes

A similar sculpture entitled African Chief is in the Permanent Collection of Iziko South African National Gallery.

This piece can be compared to the much larger steel sculpture which was commissioned in 1959 for the Union Pavilion in the  Milner Park Showgrounds, Johannesburg.  Standing almost seven metres tall, Africa is one of Villa's watershed pieces, and though the title could arguably be linked to its having been commissioned for the Union of South Africa's pavilion, it more probably suggests his active and positive identification with the country and continent of his choice.   Africa is now to be seen in the grounds of Kumba Resources headquarters in Pretoria.

Amalie von Maltitz and Karel Nel, Eduardo Villa: A Life Considered, Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg, 2005, page 44

Provenance

Edgar Bold, and thence by descent