This sketch depicts the view into Nelson Mandela’s prison cell through the open cell door. The few possessions that prisoners were allowed have been emphasised in colour, as they are symbolic of a link with a reality outside the harsh prison regime. Their meagre possessions typically included letters and photographs of family and friends – pieces of paper that acquired tremendous emotional value to prisoners. Nelson Mandela was to spend some 17 years of his 26 year imprisonment in this cell on Robben Island. When he was released from prison he became South Africa’s first black president and showed the country how to unify and forgive.

Every Nelson Mandela work sold by Belgravia Gallery comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.