African Art (Level 1)

These galleries celebrate over 4,000 years of continuous artistic production on the African continent, with artworks dating from as far back as 2000 BCE to as recently as 2020 CE. As these works are created by a wide array of artists, spread across the second largest continent, it is important to understand that artwork is produced for a variety of reasons. The bgalleries explore how artwork is used for political, economic, social, and religious purposes.

Highlights include an exceptional Egungun Masquerade Costume, Yinka Shonibare’s sculpture Earth Kid (Boy), a rare Model Boat from Cameroon, and an ancient Egyptian carving of Cleopatra.