This week may have set a record in the number of major auctions held by Christie's, Sotheby's and Philips de Pury but far and away the best auction was "Africa," one of the new "theme" auctions that have been organized by Philips de Pury.  Its sale total of about $1,400,000 paled beside the blockbuster Contemporary Art evening auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's and it had few "big" names, indeed, few recognizable names.  But it presented a marvelous group of wonderful art objects that were only a small fraction of the auction's total but very memorable nonetheless.  This was the third "theme" auction that Philips de Pury has held and they have all raised the standards of the marketplace even if they have not produced barrels of money, which is not terribly important anyway.

"Africa is a continent that has totally fascinated me ever since I was a child," declared Simon de Pury, the chairman of Philips de Pury, in his introduction to the large and sumptuous catalogue for this auction, which is a must for any African art collector's library.

"Through my friends Jean-Paul and Monique Barbier-Mueller and their extensive program of publications and exhibitions at the Musée Barbier-Mueller and at major institutions around the world, I was later introduced to the power and beauty of African art.  Three trips to Mali with Monique Barbier-Mueller then initiated me completely to the magic appeal of Africa.  A boat ride on the Niger from Mopti to Niafunké to visit the music legend Ali Farka Touré, several visits to the photography studio of Malik Sidibé, the architectural beauty of Djenné or the Dogon villages, all confronted me with the raw force and artistic genius of Africa.  It is that total originality that has been such a strong inspiration for countless artists of the 20th Century.  It is only through exhibitions such as the pioneering show staged by Jean-Hubert Martin at the Centre Pompidou in 1989, that a western audience began to focus on the great intrinsic quality of contemporary African art.   Jean Pigozzi was the first to recognize its immense importance and started to build then what today unquestionably is the greatest and most comprehensive collection of its kind.  We wanted this auction to put the spotlight on the great art being done today in Africa but also art from America, Europe and around the world that uses Africa as inspiration.  Among them a generation of outstanding African American artists that mix some African influences with influences from America and other parts of the world have become one of the most interesting and novel elements in the international contemporary art world.  It is my hope the contents of this auction will be like the haunting music of Salif Keita, a homage to Africa," Mr. de Pury wrote.

The important catalogue not only includes biographies of the artists but a very long article on Monique Barbier-Mueller, a very good, long article by Kobena Mercer on "Radio Ethiopia: Africa's Transcultural Influences," a long article on Jakob Boeskov and his activities in Nollywood, the world's fastest growing film industry that happens to be in Lagos, Nigeria, and an article by Katerina Gregos with Kendell Geers, a South African artist.

It is a cliché that African men, and women, are wonderful portrait subjects, but Lot 163, a portrait of a Dinka man at the cattle camp of Kei in Southern Sudan by Sebastian Salgado is fabulous. Salgado was born in Brazil in 1944 and is a social documentary photographer best known for his images of displaced populations in underdeveloped countries. We cannot tell if his subject in this lot is suffering or calm or happy.  The catalogue notes that "people cover themselves with ash from burned cowpats to sterilize the skin against insects and parasites."  Not a bad idea for New Yorkers as well, of course.  The gelatin silver print from 2008 measures 20 1/8 by 14 1/2 inches.  It has an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.  Incredibly, no one stepped forward to be forever haunted by this humanity and it passed.  Maybe there is no hope for Americans!


Or, perhaps Americans just like pretty pictures like Lot 176, "Lelesit from the Samburu," by Lyle Owerko, a Canadian artist working in the United States who was born in 1968.  According to the auction catalogue, "his work ranges from the September 11, 2001 Time Magazine cover image to projects on MTV and the Sundance Channel."  "His latest body of work," it continued, "the Samburu project documents the humble tribe with a level of understated dignity, pride, and reverence...."  This beautiful man is festooned with adornments including no less than 8 headdresses/feathers.  Why isn't he on the cover of Vogue or at least the centerpiece of the annual party of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  He's a lot more glamourous than the swishy ladies who take tea in their LaCroix garments!  The lot has an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.  It sold for $11,875 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

One of the most inventive "masks" is Lot 118, "Barro," by Romuald Hazoumé, which was made with a hot water bottle, a paint brush and a toy airplane tail collage.  It was created in 1999 and measures 13 1/2 by 7 7/8 by 5 1/4 inches.  It has an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.  It failed to sell.  Hazoumé comes from Benin and was born in 1962 and received the Arnold Bode Price at Documenta 12 at Kassel and has been exhibited at the Menil collection in Houston and the Musée Quai Branly in Paris and the Guggenheim Bilbao.