Part of the proceeds of the recent sale of Peju's Robe by the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui, which made £806,500 at an auction in London on 11 February, is being donated by Bonhams to the Bolanle Marinho Foundation.
The foundation was established in 2010 to build multi-purpose activity centres to educate children in state schools in Nigeria in art, music and computing.
A spokesperson for the Foundation explained, "While art and music are offered in private schools in Nigeria there is no provision for these activities in state schools, mainly due to a lack of resources. The Bolanle Marinho Foundation is working to provide equality of opportunity for all of Nigeria's children.
The money will go towards the running of the Ikoyi Centre which is situated within the premises of two state mixed and non-denominational primary schools and caters for more than 500 children aged five - eleven.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street and Knightsbridge; and a further three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to https://www.bonhams.com