Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa
Timed Online Auction, 13 - 28 February 2023
Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa
About the SessionIncluding 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.
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About this Item
signed, dated 74, and numbered 18/100 in pencil in the margin
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, September 2011.
Property of Collectors.