Acquisition
23 July 2019
The British Museum has acquired ‘Cowboy Angels' by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE
The British Museum
The British Museum has acquired ‘Cowboy Angels' by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE. The works are "a reflection on the Zeitgeist at a time of xenophobia, racism and the election of Donald Trump in the United States." Shonibare said.
Cowboy Angels comprises a set of five woodcuts that combine imagery of angels, African masks, cowboy tropes of the American West, and the artist's signature Dutch wax batik fabric. Purchased by the British Museum with the help of the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation, they are the first work by the artist to enter the British Museum collection.