Ending 7th Jun, 2026 16:00
Olympia Timed: Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art 2026
307
KOFI ANTUBAM (GHANAIAN 1922-1964)
UNTITLED
signed and dated Kofi Antubam 1959 lower middle
watercolour on paper
18 x 27.5; 7 1/8 x 10 6/8in
34.5 x 42.5; 13 5/8 x 16 3/4in (framed)
Property of a Private Collector, Somerset
Kofi Antubam is one of the most significant figures in the history of modern Ghanaian art. Educated at Achimota College under the Russian-born sculptor Herbert Meyerowitz, who encouraged students to draw on everyday African life rather than European models, he subsequently won a scholarship to Goldsmiths College, London, from 1948 to 1950. On Ghana's independence in 1957, President Kwame Nkrumah appointed him official State Artist, a role in which he designed the presidential mace, the presidential chair and other symbols of the new nation's identity, pioneering the integration of Akan adinkra symbols into the visual language of the modern Ghanaian state. A prolific educator, muralist, watercolourist and wood carver, he was the founding president of the Ghana Society of Artists. His work is represented in the national collections of Ghana, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and has been exhibited in London, Paris, Rome, Düsseldorf and New York.
Sold for £460
UNTITLED
signed and dated Kofi Antubam 1959 lower middle
watercolour on paper
18 x 27.5; 7 1/8 x 10 6/8in
34.5 x 42.5; 13 5/8 x 16 3/4in (framed)
Property of a Private Collector, Somerset
Kofi Antubam is one of the most significant figures in the history of modern Ghanaian art. Educated at Achimota College under the Russian-born sculptor Herbert Meyerowitz, who encouraged students to draw on everyday African life rather than European models, he subsequently won a scholarship to Goldsmiths College, London, from 1948 to 1950. On Ghana's independence in 1957, President Kwame Nkrumah appointed him official State Artist, a role in which he designed the presidential mace, the presidential chair and other symbols of the new nation's identity, pioneering the integration of Akan adinkra symbols into the visual language of the modern Ghanaian state. A prolific educator, muralist, watercolourist and wood carver, he was the founding president of the Ghana Society of Artists. His work is represented in the national collections of Ghana, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and has been exhibited in London, Paris, Rome, Düsseldorf and New York.
Auction: Olympia Timed: Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art 2026, ending 7th Jun, 2026
If you want to start collecting striking modern and contemporary art in a newly developing market, our sales are for you. Each spring and autumn, the Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Department hold tightly curated, live and online auctions. Expect to find Arab artists such as Rabab Nemr, Ahmed Farid, Seif Wanly and Fateh Moudarres. African artists featured have ranged from modern masters such as Ablade Glover, Sam Ntiro and Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, to contemporary artists George Lilanga, Jilali Gharbaoui, Famakan Magassa, Christano Mangovo, Oluwole Omofemi, Esther Mahlangu and Brett Seiler.
