By Meletus EZE
Chidiogo Parr’s, daughter of late Prof Dora Akunyili’s face graced the streets of Los Angeles in a painting done by her sister and renowned visual artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby.
Sharing the photo on her instagram handle, @Chidiogo_oo wrote:
“I remember the day I posed for this picture that would become a painting that would grace the streets of LA. My visa to Germany had been rejected.
“When I had pushed to understand why, I had received an apologetic explanation from a kind officer on how they couldn’t understand why a Nigerian woman as myself wanted to learn German.
“I was stuck in limbo in between my dream and my reality, uncertain of my next steps, frustrated with life, filled with resentment and judgement.
“And out of that summer came this painting. I suppose it’s my very own compass to always remember that there is only so much we can see from the bottom of the tree. The view is always changing if we can allow it.’’
Njideka, 35, recently sold a previous painting titled “Bush Babies’’ for $3.4 million, equivalent to N1.2billion.
She also sold the “Bush Babies’’ artwork during an auction at the Christie’s in London, United Kingdom and it’s sale price set a new auction record.
Also, in 2016, Crosby sold her paintings for N1 million and now, the young artist is setting records.
The renowned artist is known for creating art that draws on her ethnic heritage and African experience.
She was born in Enugu, Nigeria, and moved to the United states at the age of 16, studied art and biology at Swarthmore College, as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow.
She then went on to earn a post-baccalaureate certificate at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before attaining a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the Yale University School of Art.— NAN
