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"The Cell Door," designed by South African President Nelson Mandela during his 27 years of imprisonment, will be auctioned at the Bonham Art Gallery in New York in May.
A drawing of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela from the door of his Robben Island cell – where he was held for 18 years – will be auctioned in early May in New York.
Bonhams, which will hold the sale on May 2, has set the value of "The Cell Door, Robben Island" – completed in 2002 by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate – between $ 60,000 and $ 90,000.
The artwork will be part of a sale of modern and contemporary African art.
Poignant and personal
"The word" iconic "is so used, but having a drawing of one of the most important men of the twentieth century … would be a remarkable thing," AFP spokesman Giles Peppiatt said. Modern African art at auction house.
"This is the first time that this work is on display to the public.This is also the first work of Nelson Mandela to be sold on the open market."
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.
"It was a very personal, very poignant work for him," said Peppiatt, explaining that Mandela had adopted art as a hobby after leaving the South African presidency in 1999.
"He had more time in front of him," he said.
Until now, Mandela's daughter, Pumla Makaziwe Mandela, had the job in her possession.
The first black president of South Africa made a total of 20 to 25 drawings, according to Peppiatt. 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.
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