Akunyili’s daughter’s art breaks record at auction in New York
By Sewe Ishola
For the second time in a row, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, the daughter of late Nigerian Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili broke expectations and record as one of her artworks, “Drown” went from an expected sale of between $200,000-$300,000 to auction at $1,092,500.
The artwork which was sold at the Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale had no fewer than 11 bidders competing on it before, it was eventually sold to an anonymous buyer, who participated in the auction via telephone.
This was the second time in less than two months that the auction record for Njideka Akunyili Crosby had been broken at Sotheby’s. The previous auction record for the artist was $93,750, set by her “Untitled” work from 2011 at Sotheby’s New York in September 2016.
“Drown” is an intimate self-portrait of the artist with her husband, Justin, and demonstrates beautifully how the layers of Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s work reference the layers of her own identity.
Photo credits: http://timeofgist.com/
