2 930 000 000
The sales in dollars by the three main auction houses of New York — Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s, in May 2018.
22 000
The number of artworks in Nando’s private collection.
32 000
The number of empty places showcased at the Nairobi National Museum to represent objects stolen from Kenya. The exhibition, dubbed “Invisible Inventories”, examined the effects of lost heritage on communities.
5 100 000
The prices in rands fetched by both a Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef painting and an Anton van Wouw sculpture at a Strauss & Co auction in April 2021.
1964
The year that Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn was painted. This year it sold for $195-million, the highest price yet for a 20th-century artwork.
46
The number of days that Henri Matisse’s Le Bateau hung upside down at New York’s MoMA in 1961 before anyone noticed.
2011
The first year, after the cultural boycott of apartheid, that South Africa had a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Installation works were by Mary Sibande, Siemon Allen, and Lyndi Sales.
1912-1948
The years during which art competitions were part of the modern Olympic Games. There were five categories — architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture.
519 826
The price in pounds fetched by Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu’s bronze scultpture, Atlas.
