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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Hunting for the woman in ‘African Mona Lisa’

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Joel Olatunde Agoi, Phil Hazlewood -


She’s been described as “the African Mona Lisa”, the subject of a long-lost series of three paintings by the artist considered the father of Nigerian modernism.


But like Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous portrait, finding out more about the woman in Ben Enwonwu’s ‘Tutu’ has so far been elusive, even for her extensive extended family.


One of the missing works, discovered in a north London flat, goes on sale in the British capital on Wednesday and is expected to fetch $347,000).


Enwonwu was professor of fine arts at the university in Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba people in southwest Nigeria, when he met Adetutu Ademiluyi and painted her in 1973 and 1974.


The painting of the Yoruba princess by an ethnic Igbo artist became a symbol of national reconciliation at a delicate time in Nigeria’s history.


What is known about “Tutu” is that she was the granddaughter of the traditional ruler, Ademiluyi Ajagun, the Ooni (king) of Ife, who died in 1930.


He is said to have married up to 47 times, had many mistresses and children.


Surviving relatives in Ife said they remember an Adetutu in the family.


“Adetutu was... one of the daughters of Kabiyesi (king) Ademiluyi,” said Olori (queen) Anifowoshe.


But Anifowoshe, who is said to be more than 100, couldn’t recall if Adetutu married or had children and said: “She died many years ago.”


Cecilia Ayoka is another centenarian and was married to Prince Okero Ademiluyi, a son of the former king.


“I used to know Adetutu in those days but for some years now I haven’t heard anything about her,” she added.


Giles Peppiatt, the head of modern and contemporary African art at Bonhams auction house, said the older women in the family may have been referring to an Adetutu of a different generation.


He said family members told him a younger Adetutu was alive, in her late 60s and living in Lagos.


“Tutu is one of about 300 (children). That’s why it’s actually quite difficult to find her,” he said.


Enwonwu died in 1994 and appears not to have left any clues about his subject.


His son, Oliver, 42, said he can’t recall his father ever discussing it.


Oliver, also the president of Society of Nigerian Artists, however, was pleased. “It’s a thing of joy that several decades after his death my father’s works are being appreciated globally.” — AFP


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