The rediscovery of Ben Enwonwu

They hadn’t set out to find the star of the auction. In fact, they hadn’t visited the house looking for a lost Ben Enwonwu piece. But as the owners pulled back the curtains in a dusty upstairs bedroom, light fell across a dirty painting hanging above the bed. Even though it was covered in 40 years of grime, Neil Coventry of Bonhams immediately recognised that the painting was by Ben Enwonwu and that it was worth an awful lot of money.

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The painting, known as FESTAC ‘77, depicts a proud woman in traditional dress. It’s angular and geometric, the clothing striking in its complexity. Art is subjective, but it’s hard not to be moved in some way by Ben Enwonwu’s portraits.

Background

Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu, known as Ben Enwonwu, was born in Onitsha, Nigeria, in 1917. His father was a technician by trade but also sculpted staffs of office, stools, and decorative doors. Enwonwu inherited his father’s tools and showed immediate skill as a sculptor. In Nigeria, he studied under Kenneth C. Murray, an English art curator and teacher, and was recognised as a gifted artist. In England, he graduated with a first-class diploma in fine art from the Slade School of Fine Art.

During the 1950s and 1960s, he toured the United States and held art exhibitions in London, Lagos, Paris, New York, and Boston. Queen Elizabeth II commissioned and sat for a portrait sculpture. He exhibited the vast bronze sculpture at the Royal Society of British Artists exhibition in London in 1957. In the 1960s, he became the first Fellow in African Studies at the University of Lagos and, in the 1970s, a Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife.

Ben Enwonwu was recognised as a world-class artist from an early age, something special. He produced art for the United Nations and the National Museum in Lagos. His prolific output included sculptures and portraits, frequently focusing on female figures.

Interpretation

People interpret much of his art as a metaphor for African independence, power, and equality. But Enwonwu is adamant about not being labelled solely an ‘African’ artist. “I will not accept an inferior position in the art world,” he told the BBC. “Nor have my art called ‘African’ because I have not correctly and properly given expression to my reality.”

Enwonwu was also a proponent of the Négritude global art movement, which sought to draw attention to those living under colonial rule in Africa and the Caribbean. Enwonwu wrote an article titled: ‘Problems of the African Artist Today.’ He wrote: “I will not accept an inferior position in the art world. European artists like Picasso, Braque and Vlaminck are influenced by African art. Everybody sees that and does not oppose to it. But when people see African artists who are influenced by their European training and technique, they expect that Africans to stick to their traditional forms … I do not copy traditional art.”

The lost art

Orkney, a storm-battered archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland, is a very long way from Lagos. The art that you do find here is likely Neolithic. But the day before I spoke to Neil Coventry from Bonhams, he had made a phone call to one of the island’s residents. The conversation went something like this: “This is a very strange question,” he began, “but do you have a four-foot wooden sculpture?” On the other end of the telephone, the man replied: “Well, yes, I do. It’s here in the Orkney Islands. Is it worth anything?” Neil knew immediately he’d found a rare Ben Enwonwu sculpture. “Yes, it’s probably worth £40-60,000.”

The man’s father bought it at an exhibition in Lagos on a work trip 64 years earlier for £100. It has passed around the family, no one fully understanding its value. The highest price ever commanded for a Ben Enwonwu painting was at a Bonhams auction, where one of a series of portraits called Tutu sold for £1,208,750. Someone found it in a London flat in 2017. These are just two examples of potentially hundreds of pieces that sit in a loft or by a fireplace, on a bedroom wall, or in an office somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered.

READ ALSO: Enwonwu’s ‘Yoruba Woman In Blue’ hits £686,200 at Bonhams’ auction

Tracking

Neil Coventry has spent his career tracking down pieces of art, particularly those from West Africa. “I have files and files of these cold cases where I either have an image, a title from a catalogue, a letter, or a diary. I’ve got the clue, and I follow these clues and find these things, usually with the children or the grandchildren of the people who bought them.”

And it’s not just Ben Enwonwu. Neil recently received a sculpture by Felix Idubor from Benin City and a painting by Maurice Fiévet, a French adventurer who painted people and landscapes across Nigeria for five years and also made hundreds of photographs.

The interest

The growing international interest in Ben Enwonwu and Nigerian artists reflects a wider re-appraisal of African art. Galleries and museums across the world are clamouring to diversify their collections, finally recognising the quality of African art.

Is there another artist like Ben Enwonwu waiting for reappraisal? Neil isn’t so sure. “Ben Enwonwu was at a very specific time, had a very specific talent, and was a very specific artist. But there are others commanding money.

“Six years ago, we were selling Yusuf Grillo’s (1934-2021) paintings for £25,000, and now you’re looking at about £300,000, but his works are very hard to find. Demas Nwoko is another, but also hard to find. Ben Enwonwu was prolific in so many mediums: wood, bronze, watercolour, oil, sketch. Expatriates working in government or oil companiese  bought Ben when he exhibited outside of Nigeria.

“People highly respected and regarded Ben at the time. He met with all the artists of the Harlem Renaissance: Aaron Douglas and Richmond Barthé. He was hanging out with Léopold Sédar Senghor and discussing the concept of Négritude. His essay writing was just incredible. He was an incredible individual.”

Art festival

The Ben Enwonwu piece of art known as FESTAC ’77 could be the star of the next African Modern and Contemporary Art auction, held at Bonhams on October 16. FESTAC ’77 was the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, held in Lagos.

Ben Enwonwu was a key player in the festival, which attracted the best in African music, fine art, literature, dance, and drama. 16,000 participants from 56 African nations, as well as from the African Diaspora, attended. Stevie Wonder and Gilberto Gil, Miriam Makeba and Franco Luambo Makiadi all performed. Nigerian exhibitors included Bruce Onobrakpeya, Uche Okeke, Kolade Oshinowo, Yusuf Grillo, and Ben Enwonwu.

African art continues to sell more as Ben Enwonwu and other artists gain recognition. The question: where will the next piece be found?