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Madiba's latest artworks go on sale November 27, 2003 By Sarah Cassidy Nelson Mandela offered new insight into his years of incarceration on Robben Island as his latest artworks were unveiled in a sale which aims to raise more than £5-million for charity. The sketches by the former South African president are to be sold by a London gallery to raise money for his charitable foundation which helps orphans and HIV sufferers. In hand-written comments that accompany his pictures, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace prize-winner said that he now remembered the "stark hospital wards" of the notorious prison "with fondness" so his sketch was "filled with joyous colour". Mandela spent 17 years in the apartheid regime's maximum security prison before being moved to a jail on the mainland. The collection of five simple charcoal and pastel lithographs includes The Ward which shows the hospital which served as the focal point for prisoners. There are 350 limited editions of each sketch and prices start at £2,950.00 a picture. Another depicts curled barbed wire in front of a bright orange guard watchtower and the bare courtyard where prisoners played tennis. Accompanying the pictures are Mandela's hand-written memories of the island. He described the hospital as "the vital link between us and the rest of the world" where news of the outside world trickled through to inmates. He added: "Today I remember the stark hospital wards with fondness. These memories, like this sketch are filled with joyous colours." Of playing tennis in the jail, Mandela wrote: "It was a strange sensation enjoying such civilised hobbies in such an uncivilised place." Art critic Richard Fitzwilliams said Mandela's choice of vibrant and warms colours reflected his message of hope. "The use of bright colour is symbolic. The colours could have been far grimmer than they are," Fitzwilliams said. "He was incarcerated in Robben Island for 17 years. Most people would consider that experience grim and would want to forget it.""For Mandela, it was a microcosm of the wider struggle against apartheid in South Africa." Situated off the coast of Cape Town, Robben Island served as a prison for black opposition figures, union organisers and militant activists during the aprtheid era. Mandela was eventually released in 1990 and was elected president in South Africa's first multiracial elections in 1994. The new sketches follow the release of Mandela's first series last year which included The Cell and The Lighthouse. The images cost between £2,950.00 and £3,950.00 and proceeds from sales will go to the Nelson Mandela Trust which helps orphaned and homeless children and sufferers from HIV in South Africa. - Independent Foreign Service.

Mandela shows bleak images of prison life Wed 26 November, 2003 13:43 LONDON (Reuters) - Barbed wire and watchtowers dominated an exhibition of art by South African icon Nelson Mandela which has opened in London. "Reflections of Robben Island" comprises five bleak lithograph images by the 85-year-old anti-apartheid campaigner, who spent 18 of his 27 years in prison on the South African island. The simple limited-edition prints -- line drawings, emboldened with blocks of colour -- are priced between 2,950 pounds and 3,950 pounds, and follow his "My Robben Island" series last September. One entitled "Mandela's Walk" shows a guard tower at the edge of his compound, which he passed on the way to labouring in the stone quarries. "The tower reminded us of exactly where we were and where we expected to stay for the rest of our lives," the former South African president wrote in accompanying text. "How little we guessed at the great changes that would sweep our country in our lifetime... " Proceeds from the sale will go to his Nelson Mandela Trust, and particularly its work fighting AIDS in Africa."

Madiba's glitzy golfers help raise R2m November 17, 2003 By Katharyn Williams The glitzy, glorious and the glamourous turned up to take part in the Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament and have fun at the Arabella Country Estate just outside Kleinmond over the weekend. But yesterday the event took a more serious turn. Two R1-million cheques were handed over to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Gary Player Foundation. On Friday afternoon local and international celebrities and VIP guests arrived at Arabella, just outside Kleinmond for a weekend of fantastic golf in aid of charity. Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson, British supermodel Jodie Kidd, former England cricket captain Alec Stewart, Springbok rugby player Bobby Skinstad and South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher were only a few of the special guests that took part in the invitational. The tournament is fast becoming South Africa's premier charity event. Over the past three years more than R5m has been raised for the two charities involved, both of which provide support structures and initiatives that improve the lives of the children and youth of South Africa. Highlights of the auction included a signed Muhammad Ali boxing glove for R80 000 and two paintings signed by Nelson Mandela, which were sold for R100 000 each. Jackson has become something of an honourary South African in recent times, filming in Cape Town earlier this year and enjoying several of the region's golf courses. He believes it is vital to support causes like the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Gary Player Foundation. "It is important that everybody has events like this. There are people at risk everywhere and there are people with advantages that do things like play golf. This is a way to get people to come out and spend certain amounts of money to play in events like this with people like us." Yesterday afternoon Madiba himself arrived to accept a cheque worth R1m that had been raised through a live auction, anonymous donations, R25 000 per four-ball and a silent auction.

Madiba shows his artistic side: IOL February 08 2003 Nelson Mandela, South Africa's former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, moved from statesman to artist on Friday, unveiling his second series of sketches and impressions before a star-studded audience. The 84-year-old former freedom fighter returned to the prison where he spent 18 years as a political prisoner to launch new works from A Touch of Mandela. The collection is a work-in-progress collection made up of 21 sketches of landmarks and emotive symbols and moments of his life on Robben Island, of which five artworks and one motivational piece were released last year. Two personalised impressions by Mandela showing his hand print and those of African children affected by Aids fetched a whopping R1-million at an auction from Andy McDonald, the chairman of British record company Independiete. Personalised copies of five drawings of images on Robben Island were sold to the MD of British sports management company Pro International, Dennis Roach, for R850 000. The drawings show various images of the island, such as a communal prison cell, the prison courtyard and guard tower, alongside photographs of the images. "I have attempted to colour the island sketches in ways that reflect the positive light in which I view it," Mandela said of his work. "That is what I would like to share with people around the world, and, hopefully also project the idea that even the most fantastic of dreams can be achieved if we are prepared to endure life's challenges." Speaking on Friday, Mandela said he wanted the use of colour to reflect celebration as opposed to the grey that Robben Island had represented to the prisoners. London's Belgravia Gallery released 500 charcoal prints of each of the first six sketches in 2002, priced from $2 500 (about R21 000) each and from $13 000 for a set of six. Internationally renowned talk-show host Oprah Winfrey is apparently one of many admirers, and owners, of Mandela's work. Most of the proceeds are awarded to the Nelson Mandela Trust. According to a statement, the former president is a passionate art lover, whose skills were honed by a young contemporary local artist, Varenke Paschke. The new lithographs were unveiled at a glittering function in a hall of his old prison. Among the guests were Dali Tambo and singer PJ Powers, finance minister Trevor Manuel, North West Premier Popo Molefe and businessman, former politician and Robben Island prisoner, Tokyo Sexwale. - Sapa

Mandela embarks on new career - art Friday, February 7, 2003 - CNN.com JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) Van Gogh. Picasso. Matisse. Mandela? South African revolutionary-turned-peacemaker Nelson Mandela has become a popular artist, creating drawings in charcoal and pastel of his time as an inmate at the brutal Robben Island prison. In just five months, the 84-year-old former South African president and Nobel Peace laureate has sold more than 1,000 lithographs of five drawings. Cape Town artist Varenke Paschke was recruited to tutor Mandela in composition and color and to supervise his work. Mandela decided he wanted to recreate his time on Robben Island, but not in a dark and gloomy way, Paschke said. He wanted to "concentrate on celebrating how everything turned out," she said. Mandela was released in 1990 after spending almost three decades in prison for plotting to overthrow the government and end apartheid. He served most of his time at Robben Island. He later became South Africa's president, stepping down in 1999. In his pictures of Robben Island, the harbor where prisoners arrived is a gentle blue. The black sketches of the surrounding buildings are unthreatening and vague. Even a view of Cape Town's Table Mountain through the bars of his cell appears optimistic. The bars are a cheery orange, and the vast distance between Mandela and the freedom of the mountain is a simple green field. "I have attempted to color the island sketches in ways that reflect the positive light in which I view it," Mandela said in a statement about his work. "This is what I would like to share with people around the world and, hopefully, also project the idea that even the most fantastic of dreams can be achieved if we are prepared to endure life's challenges." At an exhibition on Robben Island this week, Mandela planned to unveil four new Robben Island pieces and two others in a series called Impressions by Mandela. The new pieces are cloaked in secrecy, but at least one of the Robben Island sketches will be of the limestone quarry where Mandela and many of the other prisoners toiled. The glare of the sun off the quarry's rocks has been blamed for Mandela's weak eyesight. The pictures have already raised about $700,000 for the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. Among the buyers is TV's Oprah Winfrey, who spent about $220,000 for a set of Mandela prints at a charity auction in December. Actor Patrick Duffy and boxing promoter Frank Warren have also bought sets. One woman who came into the gallery told of how her father was a prisoner on Robben Island along with Mandela, Anna Hunter said. Soon after he was released, he died a broken man. She bought a picture to remind her of him, Hunter said. "She cried," she said. "We all cried."

Mandela art a hands-down winner Sunday Times 18 May 2003 British collectors spend thousands on prints of the ex-President's right hand, which show an image of Africa on his palm. A London art gallery was inundated with visitors, e-mails and phone calls this week after the Times newspaper published a front-page picture of a lithograph showing the hand print of former President Nelson Mandela. The print shows a depression in the centre of his palm in the shape of the African continent. The lithograph is being sold at the Belgravia Gallery, which also sells watercolours by Prince Charles. The gallery has previously sold works by Mandela depicting Robben Island to raise money for his charities. Gallery manager Laura Hunter said she had had to employ back-up staff to cope with inquiries, and that the gallery had sold at least 200 prints in two days. "It's real and it's spooky," she said. "I've met him, spent time with him in Johannesburg, and I'm absolutely convinced that the prints are real. I want to make one of my owhand to see if it shows England!" The Times reported that the original print was created by Mandela in February while working on drawings of Robben Island. He was in his studio when he rested his hand on one of his paintings, covering it in acrylic paint. When he wiped his hand on a clean piece of paper, the image of Africa appeared on the paper. The image of Africa appears only on Mandela's right-hand print. The lithographs are being sold in a limited edition of 1 000 signed prints, and cost £2 150 each. Proceeds will go to the Nelson Mandela Trust, a fund for orphaned, homeless and HIV-positive children. Hunter said sales of the Robben Island lithographs had already raised over £1-million. "But the interest in the hand print has been unbelievable," she said. "The ones we had have all gone, and we are expecting 300 to 400 more in the next few days, but they have all been snapped up by people who have booked them." Last year's lithographs of Robben Island sold for £1 575 each, with inquiries coming from around the world. The most popular was The Window, an idealised view that represented freedom and beauty to Mandela when he was in prison. Hunter said Mandela had indicated that he planned to become a full-time artist when he retired after completing his memoirs. "But," she added, "I don't know if he will ever retire!" Lori Reid, a hand analyst and author of The Art of Hand Reading, told the Times that the Africa outline was an extraordinary apparition. "It is almost as if the continent is imprinted on his soul," she said.

Nelson Mandela's prints on show in New York New York Mail & Guardian: 10 March 2004 09:57 The colours are vivid, the lines simply drawn, a strangely idealised version of what Nelson Mandela saw -- or wished to see -- through the bars of the tiny cell where he spent 27 years for resisting South Africa's apartheid regime. But the man who went from political prisoner to president, militant revolutionary to Nobel peace laureate, has his own explanation for the upbeat lithographs of the notorious Robben Island prison off Cape Town. "Today when I look at Robben Island, I see it as a celebration of the struggle and a symbol of the finest qualities of the human spirit than a monument to the brutal tyranny and oppression of apartheid," he says in a note attending the exhibit that opened on Tuesday in New York's Rockefeller Center. "It is true that Robben Island was once a place of darkness, but out of that darkness has come a wonderful brightness, a light so powerful that it could not be hidden behind prison walls, held back by prison bars, or hemmed in by the surrounding sea." "Reflections of Robben Island" also includes Mandela's prison writings, a copy of his cell key and a chart he used to keep track of the time. The most dramatic item, however, is a print of his right palm, with an empty space eerily shaped like the continent of Africa. The "Hand of Africa," as it is called, can be purchased for $15,900. Lithographs range from $5,400, to $28,000 for "The Window," a barred window with Cape Town's famed Table Mountain in the distance. In the latter years, tennis and gardening helped ease Mandela's boredom and his racquet is also part of the exhibit. - Sapa-AP

Well-heeled flock to auction of Mandela goodies Sunday Times 22 June 2003 The moneyed A-List was out in force as the Johannesburg leg of the "Touch Of Mandela" auction of Nelson Mandela's Robben Island prints got under way at the Sandton Hilton on Tuesday. Next stop London, then New York and probably Chicago. With the drawings (sketched from photographs, they say, by the former President) as well as Madiba handprints and a 3kg gold replica by Harmony Gold Mines of the surprisingly small hand of the great man going for six figures, guests needed to be seriously well-heeled. A hand has been cast for each of the 27 years Madiba was in prison and they are numbered 1 to 27 (not a trick has been missed in the marketing of this Madiba collection). Buyers flew in from London to bid for lots sold by that consummate auctioneer Rael Levitt, bringing in well over R1-million for the Nelson Mandela Trust (and because of the exchange rate the items cost less than they will at the London auction). Visitors included British property developer and philanthropist Bertie Hedley and his wife, Deborah, who also run six children's homes. Familiar faces were everywhere, led by Madiba himself, who gave a speech and stayed for three hours, almost a record these days.