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A drawing of the late South African President Nelson Mandela from the door of his Robben Island cell – where he was held for 18 years – was sold Thursday in New York for $ 112,575.
"The Cell Door, Robben Island" – completed in 2002 by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate – has exceeded the upper limit of the estimated range provided by Bonhams, bringing its value between $ 60,000 and $ 90,000.
The crayon drawing of pastel wax shows some bars of the door of the cell and a key in the lock, drawn in purple.
This work is one of the few that Mandela – who has been imprisoned for 27 years in total and inspired the struggle against apartheid – has kept up until his death in 2013.
Mandela's daughter, Pumla Makaziwe Mandela, previously had the job in her possession.
The first black president of South Africa made a total of 20 to 25 drawings, according to Giles Peppiatt, director of modern African art at the auction house. Some have been reproduced as lithographs to raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Mandela was imprisoned from 1962 to 1990. He was incarcerated at Robben Island, off Cape Town, from 1964 to 1982. Mandela was President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
Mandela's drawing was one of six works that surpbaded the $ 100,000 at the Thursday African art sale.
Another South African artist, Irma Stern (1894-1966), won the highest price of the auction – $ 312,575 – for "Malay Girl", a 1946 portrait.
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