Lot 87: Eve de Negri (British, 1919-1977) Abeokuta

Abeokuta
signed 'de Negri' (lower right),
oil on board
76 x 92cm (29 15/16 x 36 1/4in).

Eve de Negri first went to Nigeria in 1959 and stayed for about ten years, living first in what was then Nigeria's Western Region. She later moved to Lagos where, building on her experience as a lecturer at Central St Martin's School of Design in London, she founded the Fashion department at Yaba College of Technology. De Negri was a prolific painter, often improvising materials to paint with and on, and in the mid 1960s was the first woman to have a solo show at the Commonwealth Institute in London. She also exhibited her work annually in Lagos. De Negri's research on Nigerian costume, still regarded as an important resource on the subject, was published extensively in Nigeria and abroad.