Missing Nigerian masterpiece found in flat in London

A NIGERIAN painting considered to be a masterpiece of African art has been discovered in a north London flat after being missing for decades.

The discovery of Ben Enwonwu’s 1974 painting of the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi, known as Tutu, has been described as the “most significant discovery in contemporary African art in over 50 years”, Ben Okri, a Nigerian novelist, told the Guardian.

The image of the painting became a symbol of national reconciliation in the country, where people hang posters of it on the walls of their homes.

It is not known how the piece came to be in north London, and the family who have it in their possession requested anonymity.

However, it will be sold at Bonhams in London later this month and is expected to go for more than £200,000.

Giles Peppiatt, director of modern African art at Bonhams, made the discovery when he visited the house.

Enwonwu was a student at Oxford in the Forties, but became widely known when he was commissioned to create a bronze sculpture of the Queen during her visit to Nigeria in 1956. He died in February 1994.