Lot 10: IBRAHIM EL-SALAHI (SUDANESE, 1930) Portrait of a Sudanese g

IBRAHIM EL-SALAHI (SUDANESE, 1930) Portrait of a Sudanese gentleman signed and dated ‘Salahi/ 1951’ (lower right) oil on board 52.5 x 36cm (20 11/16 x 14 3/16in).

Provenance Mr Graham F. Thomas (1921-2000). By descent to the current owner. Ibrahim El-Salahi is one of the defining figures of African and Arab Modernism, a reputation that was recognised in the 2013 retrospective at Tate Modern, London, Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist. Born in Omdurman in Sudan, El-Salahi now lives and works in Oxford, UK, a self-imposed exile. The artist painted this portrait whilst studying at the Khartoum Technical Institute between 1949-1951. He subsequently won a place at the Slade School of Art in London, supported by a government arts scheme. The portrait was purchased by Graham Thomas in the early 1950s, then serving in the Sudan Government Service under the proconsul, Sir James Robertson. Thomas was greatly interested in the cultural history of Sudan, and authored four books on the subject, including ‘Sudan: Death of a Dream’, published in 1990. We are grateful to the artist for confirming the circumstances of the execution of this work.