Oshogbo Deity
Original Painting – Oil, pen and dye on cloth laid to board.
Dimensions: 133 × 87 cm (52⅜ × 34¼ inches)
Provenance: Bonhams, London, Modern & Contemporary African Art 2021
Prince Twins Seven-Seven (1944–2011) was one of Nigeria's most internationally celebrated modern artists and a leading figure of the influential Oshogbo School, which emerged during the 1960s.
Renowned for his extraordinary interpretations of Yoruba mythology, spirituality and folklore, Twins Seven-Seven developed a highly distinctive visual language characterised by intricate patterns, fantastical creatures, mythical figures and densely detailed compositions.
His artistic career began in 1964 when he participated in the pioneering Oshogbo art workshops associated with Ulli and Georgina Beier. He subsequently achieved international recognition, with his work exhibited and collected by major institutions worldwide.
His work was included in The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945–1994, presented at MoMA PS1, New York, in 2002.
In 2005, he was designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace, recognising his artistic achievements and contribution to international cultural understanding.
His remarkable life and artistic legacy were extensively documented by distinguished American scholar Henry Glassie in the substantial 2010 monograph Prince Twins Seven-Seven: His Art, His Life in Nigeria, His Exile in America, published by Indiana University Press.
Following his death in 2011, his contribution to modern African art was acknowledged internationally, including in Artforum.
About the Artwork
Oshogbo Deity is an imposing, large-scale original painting measuring over 1.3 metres in height.
Executed in oil, pen and dye on cloth laid to board, the work employs the artist's characteristic combination of intricate draughtsmanship, complex patterning and imagery rooted in the spiritual and mythological traditions of the Yoruba people.
An excellent example of the highly individual artistic language that established Twins Seven-Seven as an important figure in twentieth-century African modernism.
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