Zimpapers Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN contemporary artist Portia Zvavahera has set a new personal auction record after her painting, This is where I travelled 3 (2020), sold for £307 200 (about US$406 200) at Christie’s in London.
According to Artweb Africa, the painting was sold during the Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection auction, significantly exceeding its pre-sale estimate of between £70 000 and £100 000.
The final price, inclusive of the buyer’s premium, was more than four times the lower estimate, underlining the international demand for Zvavahera’s work.
The sale surpassed her previous auction record of US$355 600, achieved at Sotheby’s New York in May 2023, representing an increase of about 14 percent.
Zvavahera’s latest achievement came during Christie’s 20th and 21st Century evening auctions, which generated approximately £218,6 million. The Peter Simon Collection alone realised £107,5 million, according to the report.
The result further raises the profile of Zimbabwean contemporary art on the international market, although it does not surpass the highest reported auction price among Zimbabwean artists.
Fellow Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai-Violet Hwami achieved between US$484 000 and US$487 000 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2021, according to Artweb Africa.
Other Zimbabwean contemporary artists, including Gareth Nyandoro, Kudzanai Chiurai, Richard Mudariki, Misheck Masamvu, Moffat Takadiwa and Wallen Mapondera, have also established a presence in international and regional auction markets.
Zvavahera’s latest sale marks another milestone in her steadily rising auction performance.
In October 2020, her painting Arising from the Unknown (2019) sold for US$211 900 at Phillips London.
Three years later, Vese Vakanddibata (They all gave me strength) (2016) fetched US$355 600 at Sotheby’s New York, setting a new personal record.
The latest Christie’s result has now pushed that record to approximately US$406 200, further strengthening her position in the international contemporary art market.
