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Lot description
BEN OSAWE (Nigerian, 1931-2007) UNTITLED 1989 Pastel on paper 46 x 30 cm. (18 1⁄4 x 11 3⁄4 in.) Signed and dated (lower right) $ 1,200-2,000 Ben Osawe remains one of Nigeria’s most distinguished sculptors whose mastered materials range from wood, bronze, metal to cement, clay and fiberglass sculptures. Osawe got an early start as an apprentice to his father, a royal sculptor at the court of the king of Benin, Oba Eweka II, up to 1956 when he moved to England to study. He studied first at the School of Visual Art and later at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, where he graduated in 1965. Already forged in the royal manner of sculpting, Osawe then incorporated drawing into the primacy of his compositions; first as a necessary requirement for his formal education, and next as an indispensable avenue of conception. Over time, these studies on paper achieved magisterial forms, like the present lot, where curved and diagonal line orientations are worked in with light and shade to create depth and supple musculature. (SK)