Matatu, Ngong Road, 1978. Linocut printed in black and red on paper.
Lot 1

Elias Thuo (1949–2011)

Matatu, Ngong Road, 1978

Linocut printed in black and red on paper

Sheet 50 × 65 cm; image 40 × 55 cm · From the edition of 30

Estimate KES 80,000–120,000

Bidding

Sold

KES 150,000

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

How bidding works

Bids · 20

  1. KES 150,000 Paddle 341 Online 00:35
  2. KES 140,000 Paddle 343 Online 00:35
  3. KES 130,000 Paddle 462 Online 00:35
  4. KES 120,000 Paddle 400 Online 00:34
  5. KES 110,000 Paddle 472 Online 00:33
  6. KES 100,000 Paddle 493 Online 00:33
  7. KES 95,000 Paddle 492 Online 00:32
  8. KES 90,000 Paddle 184 Online 00:32
  9. KES 85,000 Paddle 443 Online 00:30
  10. KES 80,000 Paddle 400 Online 00:30
  11. KES 75,000 Paddle 343 Online 00:30
  12. KES 70,000 Paddle 104 Online 00:30
  13. KES 65,000 Paddle 129 Online 00:29
  14. KES 60,000 Paddle 124 Online 00:29
  15. KES 55,000 Paddle 104 Online 00:28
  16. KES 50,000 Paddle 375 Online 00:25
  17. KES 47,500 Paddle 284 Online 00:23
  18. KES 45,000 Paddle 443 Online 00:22
  19. KES 42,500 Paddle 284 Online 00:20
  20. KES 40,000 Paddle 152 Online 00:09

About the work

A matatu packed to the doors on the Ngong road, seen from behind as it pulls away: passengers ride on the back step, luggage is piled on the roof rack, and the driver leans out of his window into the crowd. Thuo printed the red, the matatu's painted stripe and tail-light panels, from a second block.

Condition

Good. Light toning to the sheet, margins intact.

Provenance

Acquired from the artist, Nairobi, circa 1980; by descent to the present owner.

The artist

Thuo cut linoleum blocks of Nairobi's crowds for thirty years: matatus packed to the doors, the cloth stalls of Gikomba, queues at the bus station. He printed in black, sometimes with a single second colour, on a hand press in his house in Kaloleni, in editions that rarely went beyond thirty. His prints were sold for years from a table outside the post office on Moi Avenue.

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