Tanzanian painter rocks Africa Art Auction with a posthumous Tingatinga wildlife landscape

Tingatinga paintings from Tanzania still rock and one such works of art commanded highest bidding at a Nairobi auction event, in Kenya.

Tanzanian artist Edward Saidi Tingatinga, whose vibrant style birthed the Tingatinga School of painters, topped the recently held, continental Arts auction in Nairobi with his ‘Landscape of Lions and birds’ oil on canvass.’

Spirited bidding and an animated salesroom audience marked the second edition of Art Auction East Africa.

Enthusiastic bidding drives strong results for East African artists at Art Auction East Africa

Organized under the Strauss & Co, the 68-lot live-virtual auction held at Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, brought together modern and contemporary art from East Africa and the wider continent.

The art sale saw strong results for artists from Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique and earned a total of 46.4 million, Kenya shillings, equivalent to USD 356,219, from the 90 percent of the lots sold.

The auction unfolded in two sessions.

Dr Alastair Meredith, Director and Global Head of Art at Strauss & Co, handled the first 31 lots, followed by Susie Goodman, Executive Director of Strauss & Co, who took the rostrum for the remaining 37.

The live-virtual format drew an engaged audience to the salesroom, where successful bids were greeted with applause and cheers.

The leading result was achieved by Tanzanian artist, the late Edward Saidi Tingatinga, whose vibrant style birthed the Tingatinga School of painters.

Tingatinga’s Untitled (Landscape with Lion and Bird) sold for KES 7,631,000 (US$58,708), more than four times its high estimate, established a new world record.

Another Tanzanian artist, Simon George Mpata, also attracted strong bidding, with Giraffes and Oxpeckers selling for KES 821,800 (US$6,322), doubling the high estimate.

“The response in the room and from online bidders demonstrated the depth of interest in the artists represented in this year’s catalogue,” says Susie Goodman, Executive Director of Strauss & Co.

“From the intense competition for Peterson Kamwathi’s The Two Horse Race to the strong results for Edward Saidi Tingatinga and Salah Elmur, the sale brought together a wide range of artistic practices and collecting interests. It was particularly rewarding to see works from across the region attract such engaged bidding.”

Sudanese artist Salah Elmur was another strong performer.

His 2019 painting Untitled (Seated Figure) attracted sustained competition from telephone and room bidders before selling to a telephone bidder for KES 3,522,000 (US$27,096) after 24 bids.

A second work by Elmur, Untitled (Composition with Figures in Blue and Brown), achieved KES 763,100 (US$5 871), well above its estimate.

Competition was equally pronounced for Kenyan artist Peterson Kamwathi’s monotype diptych The Two Horse Race (2004), which drew room, telephone and online bidders into an extended contest.

The work sold to a telephone bidder after 31 bids for KES 2,113,200 (US$16 258).

Mozambican photographer Mario Macilau’s untitled 2013 portrait from his Price of Cement series sold to an online bidder for KES 1,174 000 (US$9 032) after 18 bids.

Among the notable results for Kenyan sculpture, Samuel Wanjau’s untitled carved wood sculpture depicting a bird with chicks sold for KES 1,761,000 (US$13,548), exceeding its high estimate.

Dreaming, a figurative carving by Samuel Wanjau’s son, Anthony Wanjau, also attracted strong bids, achieving KES 1,761,000 (US$13,548).

Works by revered Ugandan artist Jak Katarikawe yielded solid results.

An untitled oil on paper depicting a herd of elephants sold for KES 880,500 (US$6 774), more than double the high estimate, while an untitled woodcut from 1984 achieved KES 727,880 (US$5,600), also beating its estimate.

The sale concluded with strong interest in three works by Ugandan artist Geoffrey Mukasa, who born into a prominent political family and studied art in India.

A 1990 mixed-media work incorporating collage and depicting a reclining figure sold for KES 763,100 (US$5,871).

An untitled 1978 oil on canvas portraying a seated figure in blueachieved KES 704,400 (US$5,419), while a 1992 pen drawing of four figures sold for KES 645,700 (US$4,968).

Reflecting on the evening, Danda Jaroljmek, Director of Circle Art Agency and founder of Art Auction East Africa, said from the rostrum after the final lot was sold: “Tonight is proof when things are hard in the world, we need art.”

Her statement was greeted with spirited applause.

Founded by Jaroljmek in 2013, Art Auction East Africa has helped bring greater visibility to the region’s modern and contemporary art histories.

The collaboration with Strauss & Co, first presented in 2025, continues to offer collectors access to artists from East Africa and beyond, spanning different generations, media and artistic traditions.