Lot 2

Rosemary Karuga (Kenyan 1928 – 2021)
Hen and its Chicks, circa 1995 – 1998
Unsigned
Collage on paper
29 x 41.5cm
KES 250,000 – 350,000 ARR
(US$) 1,970 – 2,750
Provenance: Private collection

Rosemary Karuga’s lifetime of remarkable achievements has placed her as a major figure in Kenya’s modern art history. In 1950 Karuga became the first female student to attend the Margaret Trowell School of Fine and Applied Arts in Kampala, where she trained in numerous art mediums including clay work, wood carving and stone carving. Following her graduation, Karuga worked for many years as an art teacher in rural Kenya and it was only on her retirement, at nearly 60 years old, that she pursued a professional art practice. Using mostly paper packaging, newspapers and magazines as her preferred medium, Karuga creates unique images with collage, which harness both extraordinary detail and charming simplicity.


Rosemary Karuga exhibited in a group show alongside El Anatsui and Ablade Glover at the Studio Museum in New York in 1990, augmenting her international reputation. She was commissioned to illustrate a book by the Yoruba writer Amos Tutuola and the resulting exhibition took the artist and her collage works to Paris. In addition to her constant featuring in international exhibitions, Karuga’s Kenyan recognition increased as she became one of Gallery Watatu’s most highly esteemed artists, and in 2017 Rosemary Karuga was named Artist of the Month by the National Museums of Kenya.

Karuga passed away in 2021 in Ireland, where she had lived since 2006.