Study for Fishermen, 1986. Charcoal on paper.
Lot 5

Juma Mwakalinga (1958–2019)

Study for Fishermen, 1986

Charcoal on paper

50 × 65 cm

Estimate KES 180,000–260,000

Bidding

Sold

KES 260,000

Hammer price. Buyer's premium of 20% and VAT on the premium are added.

How bidding works

Bids · 16

  1. KES 260,000 Paddle 154 Online 23:38
  2. KES 240,000 Paddle 309 Online 23:37
  3. KES 220,000 Paddle 483 Online 23:37
  4. KES 200,000 Paddle 134 Online 23:37
  5. KES 190,000 Paddle 404 Online 23:37
  6. KES 180,000 Paddle 462 Online 23:36
  7. KES 170,000 Paddle 370 Online 23:36
  8. KES 160,000 Paddle 400 Online 23:36
  9. KES 150,000 Paddle 104 Online 23:33
  10. KES 140,000 Paddle 315 Online 23:29
  11. KES 130,000 Paddle 168 Online 23:28
  12. KES 120,000 Paddle 147 Online 23:27
  13. KES 110,000 Paddle 290 Online 23:25
  14. KES 100,000 Paddle 284 Online 23:24
  15. KES 95,000 Paddle 295 Online 23:23
  16. KES 90,000 Paddle 290 Online 23:14

About the work

A study for the painting Fishermen Mending Nets, offered as lot 8 in our live sale. Two of the four fishermen are here, drawn quickly with the side of the charcoal, and the net is already the line that holds the picture together.

Condition

Good. Some smudging at the edges, as is usual with charcoal. Pin holes at the corners.

Provenance

The artist's studio; acquired from the artist's family, 2021.

The artist

Mwakalinga painted the working life of Dar es Salaam for four decades: the fish market at dawn, the crowds of Kariakoo, the women who sold cloth at Mwenge. He broke each scene into flat, tilting planes of muted green and terracotta, so that a street becomes a pattern of shade and weight. He taught drawing at a secondary school until 2004, and painted at weekends and through the long school holidays.

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