Africa
Entry ID
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95 (01/02/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Africa
Description of the sculpture
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Modelled and carved in plaster, then painted black, Nina Grey's 'Africa' is a freestanding full-length sculpture, depicting a partly clothed, female figure, presumably a mother, accompanied by her small child, who reaches just above her knee. Both figures face forward but their eyes do not engage with the viewer. As the child clings to its mother, she extends a reassuring hand touching the child's head with tenderness and compassion.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Statue: Group (multiple figures)
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height: 91 cm
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Width: 31 cm
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Depth: 22.5 cm
Materials
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Plaster
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Paint / pigment
Specific techniques used
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Modelling
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Carving
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Polychromy
Overall colour
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Monochrome – black
Inscriptions
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'Nina'
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Anonymous: generic/idealised type
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Anonymous: specific individual but not currently identifiable
Role within sculpture
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Main protagonist
Gender
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Female
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Uncertain
Age
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Adult
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Toddler
Status
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Free citizen
Clothing
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Partially clothed
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Wearing clothes – indigenous clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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None
Action or activity
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Standing
Emotional state
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Indeterminate
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Looking downwards
Sculptural context
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Rural: Indigenous
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Date of Production
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c. 1962
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Original purpose
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Unknown
Original display setting
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Secular Civic: other
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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1992-3
Provenance history
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1992: gifted to the Ben Uri Gallery and Museum by the artist
Notes
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It is not known whether the artist visited Africa, nor where she found her models.
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This sculpture is featured on the cover of her first solo exhibition at Ben Uri Gallery, London in 1962.
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/840, . (no date) ‘Africa’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/836
