Painting valued at £1m found in kitchen as noticeboard

chibumga izuzu 16:31 - 22 July 2015

Irma Stern's ‘Arab in Black’ painting found covered in bills and letters in a London flat

A South African painting worth £1m, was discovered in a kitchen, where it was used as a noticeboard.

South African painting Arab in Black, by Irma Stern, which was donated to fund Nelson Mandela’s legal defence in the 1950s, was recently discovered as a noticeboard, in a London kitchen. The 1939 painting was recognised during a vacation visit to the flat by Hannah O’Leary, a specialist in South African art at Bonham's Auction House.

“I spotted this masterpiece hanging in the kitchen covered in letters, postcards and bills. It was a hugely exciting find, even before I learned of its political significance,” she said.

The Arab in Black painting will be sold at the Bonham’s Auction of South African Art in London on September 9.

Irma Stern who was and is still considered one of South Africa’s leading artist, passed away in 1966