90

Cliff Joseph

(1922-2020)

Mama Ife.

Oil on masonite board, circa 1970.
Signed and titled in ink on verso.
19 x 16 in. (48.3 x 40.6 cm.), Frame: 23 x 20 x 1 1/2 in. (58.4 x 50.8 x 3.8 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    Estate of the artist.

  • Exhibited:
    Cliff Joseph: Art Therapist and Artist, Caldwell College, New Jersey, 1999.
    (Used as the announcement image.)
    Cliff Joseph Retrospective, Westbeth Gallery, New York, 1999.
    (Used as the announcement image.)

  • Literature:
    Illustrated: Thom Pegg, Cliff Joseph: Artist and Activist, p. 93.
  • Notes:
    This painting is based on a bronze head from Ife, the ancient Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria.
  • Condition: There are thin horizontal strips of paint loss at the extreme upper and lower edge where the paint varnish stuck to the inside lip of the frame - not visible when frame. No visible conservation found under UV light examination.

    Otherwise and overall in very good, clean condition.


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October 7, 2025 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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