A “masterpiece” by Irma Stern found being used as a kitchen pin board has sold at auction for nearly a million pounds.
Arab in Black by the famous South African artist sold for £842,000 at a Bonhams sale of South African art in London.
The artwork was discovered hanging in a London kitchen being used as a noticeboard by owners who had no idea of its true value.
The piece has huge historical significance having been donated by Stern to raise money for Nelson Mandela’s trial for treason in the 1960s.
"This powerful image from Stern's highly regarded Zanzibar period, is one of the artist's finest works," said Hannah O’Leary, Bonhams head of South African art.
"It also has a fascinating past - from an important role in the political history of South Africa to its recent fate as a notice board in a modest London apartment."
The painting’s original owner was art collector and Woolworth’s heiress Betty Suzman.
"In the 1970s, it came to Britain when the buyer emigrated to the UK and was subsequently bequeathed to the current owner. For many years, Arab in Black hung in a London flat and was used as a notice board,” O’Leary said.
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"I was undertaking a routine valuation when I spotted this masterpiece hanging in the kitchen covered in letters, postcards and bills," said.
The 1939 painting provided a key part of Mandela’s defence fund when he was handed a life sentence for treason.
Giles Peppiatt, director of Bonhams South African art department, told reporters following the discovery in July that its owners were “shocked” and “astonished”.
“They loved the painting and they knew it had some value but they had no idea it was such an important work.”
"In some ways they are very sorry to see it go, but it would be a great luxury to keep a million-pound painting hanging on a kitchen wall.”
Stern’s art has been rising in popularity and value recently and another of her paintings, Bahora Girl, also from the artist's time in Zanzibar, selling at Bonhams for £2.4 million.
