Lot 18

Pilkington Ssengendo (Ugandan 1942 – 2015)
Untitled (Happy Monkeys), 2000
Signed ‘Ssengendo PN 2000’ (lower left)
Oil on canvas
66 x 79.5 cm
KES 300,000 – 400,000
Provenance: private collection

Born in 1942 in Kampala, Uganda, Pilkington Ssengendo studied visual art and sculpture at Makerere University, eventually culminating in his PhD degree in Fine Art which he was awarded at the age of 70. He began lecturing at the University in 1983 and was the Dean of the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art between 1992 and 2005. Ssengendo broke away from the British teaching syllabus that focused on European Modernity to focus on creating artworks that celebrated his people and his cultural identity.

Ssengendo used natural materials including jute, bark cloth and beads in a unique style, critically exploring East African cultural themes through western techniques using colour, perspective, line and pattern in his paintings.
Professor Pilkington Ssengendo died in 2015 leaving behind a rich legacy of paintings and sculptures and the thriving art institution that he was instrumental in shaping.

This work marks Pilkington Ssengendo’s debut in Art Auction East Africa. With few of his pieces remaining in circulation, this playful composition stands out as a particularly rare and special find.