Sam Joseph Ntiro (Tanzanian, 1923-1993) At the pool
Sam Joseph Ntiro (Tanzanian, 1923-1993)
At the pool
signed 'S. J Ntiro' (lower right); bears a label inscribed 'At the Pool, Sam Joseph Ntiro, Kilimanjaro 1956' (verso)
oil on canvas
91.5 x 101.5cm (36 x 39 15/16in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
Property from a New Jersey estate;
Clarke Auctions, US, 2024;
A private collection.
Exhibited
Merton D. Simpson Gallery, NYC, May 1960.
Literature
Mario Pissarra, 'Re/writing Sam J Ntiro: Challenges of framing in the excavation of a 'lost' pioneer', Tird Text Africa, Vol. 4, (2015), p. 40. (illustrated).
Sam Joseph Ntiro is widely recognised today as a pioneering Tanzanian artist, diplomat, and educator. Born in the Kilimanjaro region in the North-West of Tanzania, in a village called Ndereny, he studied at the Makerere College of the University of East Africa. He then studied Art and Education at the University of London before completing a postgraduate degree at the Slade School of Fine Art. Continuing his passion for artistic education, he developed the Department of Music, Arts and Culture at the University of Dar es Salaam where he also served as a Lecturer. Ntiro also served as chairman of the Tanzania Arts society and the Tanzania Crafts Council. His leadership roles were frequent and extensive. In his political career, he served as the First East African High Commissioner of Saint James in London and as the Ambassador to Ireland from the Tanganyika Territory during the years of independence from 1961, serving until 1964. Ntiro also served as the Commissioner of Culture for the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1967 to 1973. It was during this time that he also researched extensively across America in Fine Art and African studies at universities in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Wisconsin.
Sam Joseph Ntiro's extensive and impressive career is reflected in his global recognition. The first artist from East Africa to hold a solo exhibition at a gallery in New York, the Merton D. Simpson gallery in 1960, of which this present lot was included, saw his career escalate and break boundaries for other African artists to follow. This exhibition attracted the attention of the MoMA in New York who would purcahse Men Taking Banana Beer to Bride by Night (1956). It was this acquisition from this same exhibition that made Sam Ntiro the first modern African artist to have one of his works purchased by MoMA in New York.
Ntiro was committed to depicting scenes inspired by his memory of the Chagga country having not lived in Tanzania since 1944, twelve years prior to this works completion. While he had visited, a Ugandan colonial officer supporting Ntiro's application to the Slade wrote in 1951, 'He lives far away from his own people and country.' The present work is an exemplary example of Ntiro's balance between reality and imagined worlds. The layered treatment in composition is highlighted by the artists tendency to begin with a lighter palette, ultimately layering with darker heus. This creates a sense of mysticism that is further enforced by the seeming disregard for realistic depictions of scale. The figures become one with nature for a unified rhythmic scene. Professor George Kyeyune noted on works such as these:
'Ntiro's painting offers many such surprises: it depicts nature but it resists the temptation of imitating it. It invents its own mixture of fantasy and reality, and allows them to share the same territorial space without undermining the vitality of the picture.' (G. Kyeyune, p. 140.)
Contextually, this work is situated within an exhibition that would cement Sam J Ntiro's position on the global stage. An impressive businessman and artist in his own right, his almost surreal yet deeply personal works are are a testament to the love of his country and his creative genius.
Bibliography
Phillips Collection press release, African Modernism in America 1947-67, (October 2023 - January 2024)
National Archives of United States, 200s-HN-AA-8J-12.
Mario Pissarra, 'Re/writing Sam J Ntiro: Challenges of framing in the excavation of a 'lost' pioneer', Tird Text Africa, Vol. 4, (2015), pp. 25-60.
George Kyeyune, 'Pioneer Makerere Masters,' in Art in Eastern Africa, ed. Marion Arnold, (Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota, 2008).
Deputy Director of Education, Uganda Education Department, to Slade School of Fine Art, (November 22, 1951).
Sam Ntiro's student file, UCL Special Collections, University College London.
Eastern Africa | One Work, Many Voices.
Gabriella Nugent, 'Memories of Chagga Country: Sam Ntiro', Eastern Africa: One Work, Many Voices, (Online publication: MoMA, post notes on art in a global context: March 23, 2022).
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.
For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Sam Joseph Ntiro (Tanzanian, 1923-1993)
At the pool
signed 'S. J Ntiro' (lower right); bears a label inscribed 'At the Pool, Sam Joseph Ntiro, Kilimanjaro 1956' (verso)
oil on canvas
91.5 x 101.5cm (36 x 39 15/16in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
Property from a New Jersey estate;
Clarke Auctions, US, 2024;
A private collection.
Exhibited
Merton D. Simpson Gallery, NYC, May 1960.
Literature
Mario Pissarra, 'Re/writing Sam J Ntiro: Challenges of framing in the excavation of a 'lost' pioneer', Tird Text Africa, Vol. 4, (2015), p. 40. (illustrated).
Sam Joseph Ntiro is widely recognised today as a pioneering Tanzanian artist, diplomat, and educator. Born in the Kilimanjaro region in the North-West of Tanzania, in a village called Ndereny, he studied at the Makerere College of the University of East Africa. He then studied Art and Education at the University of London before completing a postgraduate degree at the Slade School of Fine Art. Continuing his passion for artistic education, he developed the Department of Music, Arts and Culture at the University of Dar es Salaam where he also served as a Lecturer. Ntiro also served as chairman of the Tanzania Arts society and the Tanzania Crafts Council. His leadership roles were frequent and extensive. In his political career, he served as the First East African High Commissioner of Saint James in London and as the Ambassador to Ireland from the Tanganyika Territory during the years of independence from 1961, serving until 1964. Ntiro also served as the Commissioner of Culture for the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1967 to 1973. It was during this time that he also researched extensively across America in Fine Art and African studies at universities in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Wisconsin.
Sam Joseph Ntiro's extensive and impressive career is reflected in his global recognition. The first artist from East Africa to hold a solo exhibition at a gallery in New York, the Merton D. Simpson gallery in 1960, of which this present lot was included, saw his career escalate and break boundaries for other African artists to follow. This exhibition attracted the attention of the MoMA in New York who would purcahse Men Taking Banana Beer to Bride by Night (1956). It was this acquisition from this same exhibition that made Sam Ntiro the first modern African artist to have one of his works purchased by MoMA in New York.
Ntiro was committed to depicting scenes inspired by his memory of the Chagga country having not lived in Tanzania since 1944, twelve years prior to this works completion. While he had visited, a Ugandan colonial officer supporting Ntiro's application to the Slade wrote in 1951, 'He lives far away from his own people and country.' The present work is an exemplary example of Ntiro's balance between reality and imagined worlds. The layered treatment in composition is highlighted by the artists tendency to begin with a lighter palette, ultimately layering with darker heus. This creates a sense of mysticism that is further enforced by the seeming disregard for realistic depictions of scale. The figures become one with nature for a unified rhythmic scene. Professor George Kyeyune noted on works such as these:
'Ntiro's painting offers many such surprises: it depicts nature but it resists the temptation of imitating it. It invents its own mixture of fantasy and reality, and allows them to share the same territorial space without undermining the vitality of the picture.' (G. Kyeyune, p. 140.)
Contextually, this work is situated within an exhibition that would cement Sam J Ntiro's position on the global stage. An impressive businessman and artist in his own right, his almost surreal yet deeply personal works are are a testament to the love of his country and his creative genius.
Bibliography
Phillips Collection press release, African Modernism in America 1947-67, (October 2023 - January 2024)
National Archives of United States, 200s-HN-AA-8J-12.
Mario Pissarra, 'Re/writing Sam J Ntiro: Challenges of framing in the excavation of a 'lost' pioneer', Tird Text Africa, Vol. 4, (2015), pp. 25-60.
George Kyeyune, 'Pioneer Makerere Masters,' in Art in Eastern Africa, ed. Marion Arnold, (Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota, 2008).
Deputy Director of Education, Uganda Education Department, to Slade School of Fine Art, (November 22, 1951).
Sam Ntiro's student file, UCL Special Collections, University College London.
Eastern Africa | One Work, Many Voices.
Gabriella Nugent, 'Memories of Chagga Country: Sam Ntiro', Eastern Africa: One Work, Many Voices, (Online publication: MoMA, post notes on art in a global context: March 23, 2022).
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.
For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
