Ending 7th Jun, 2026 16:00
Olympia Timed: Modern and Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art 2026
336
⊕ YOLANDA SONNABEND (ZIMBABWEAN 1935-2015)
CHILDHOOD-MEMORY
titled Childhood - Memory on the reverse
oil on canvas
91.5 x 121cm; 36 x 47 1/2in
99.5 x 129.7cm; 39 1/4 x 51in (framed)
Property of a Lady, London
Yolanda Paulina Tamara Sonnabend was born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), to parents of German-Jewish and Russian-Jewish descent who had emigrated from Europe in 1930. She built a distinguished career as a stage and ballet designer for the Royal Ballet with whom she first collaborated in 1963 and continued for over thirty years, including designs for Kenneth MacMillan's Swan Lake and La Bayadère, while also teaching. As a painter she was best known for her portraits, sitters including Stephen Hawking and Steven Berkoff; nine of her portraits are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Sold for £320
CHILDHOOD-MEMORY
titled Childhood - Memory on the reverse
oil on canvas
91.5 x 121cm; 36 x 47 1/2in
99.5 x 129.7cm; 39 1/4 x 51in (framed)
Property of a Lady, London
Yolanda Paulina Tamara Sonnabend was born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), to parents of German-Jewish and Russian-Jewish descent who had emigrated from Europe in 1930. She built a distinguished career as a stage and ballet designer for the Royal Ballet with whom she first collaborated in 1963 and continued for over thirty years, including designs for Kenneth MacMillan's Swan Lake and La Bayadère, while also teaching. As a painter she was best known for her portraits, sitters including Stephen Hawking and Steven Berkoff; nine of her portraits are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
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.
