Simon Mpata (Tanzanian, 1942-1984)
Untitled, undated
Signed ‘S.G.MPATA’ (lower right)
Enamel paint on board
57 x 57cm
Ksh 130,000-190,000
US$ 1,500-2,200
Sold Ksh 281,760
Provenance: private collection
Mpata is the youngest half-brother of Edward Saidi Tingatinga, founder of the Tingatinga art movement in Tanzania. Mpata learnt to paint from his brother and is generally viewed as the artist who kept his style the closest to Tingatinga’s. After the master’s death, Mpata refused to participate in training more painters and left Tanzania to open a studio in Nairobi where he lived and worked until his death in 1982. His work has been extensively collected and shown in numerous exhibitions worldwide.