CHRISTOPHER RICHARD WYNNE NEVINSON (1889-1946) African mask signed C.R.W. NEVINSON (lower right) oil on canvas 76 x 46 cm (30 1/4 x 18 1/4 in) PROVENANCE: Gordon House, London Frank Rutter wrote in Art in my time , 1935, ‘Nevinson started life with a pre-natal tendency to revolt against injustice, cruelty and oppression’. Indeed, he was encouraged to challenge societal conformity from early age, with his father being a radical journalist who fought to end slavery in West Africa. Before being appointed as an official war artist by the Department of Information in 1917, Nevinson was sent to South Africa in 1899 to cover the Boer War which he strongly opposed, writing in his diary that Britain’s ‘real objects were to paint the country red on the map and to exploit the gold-mines.’ He also visited Angola in Africa in 1904. During these visits the artist saw first-hand the effects of slavery. Upon visiting the malaria-infested plantations of São Tomé and Principe, he encountered skeletons of perished slaves along the way. His writings aimed to make clear to the consciences of his fellow Englishmen the human price of their taste for cocoa. This sympathetic depiction of an African mask nestled amongst flowers and leaves focuses on an object of cultural importance to countries in which such atrocities were being enacted. The hand crafted mask in dark wood is beautifully contrasted with the bright orange flowers of the hot climate, encapsulating the beauty of both the nature there and the items that were produced at the hands of the native people.