Tutu (painting)

Tutu is a series of three portraits painted by the Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu of the Ifẹ princess Adetutu Ademiluyi ('Tutu') in 1973. The three paintings have been missing since 1975; the second version was rediscovered in 2017 in London and sold at auction in 2018 for over £1 million.

The portrait was painted in the wake of the Nigerian Civil War and was seen a symbol of reconciliation between the government and Biafran separatists. An image of the portrait was displayed at Enwonwu's funeral. Enwonwu painted three versions of the portrait; all were subsequently lost until the 2017 discovery.

Mark Brown, writing in The Guardian described the painting as "a national icon in Nigeria, with poster reproductions hanging on walls in homes all over the country".

The subject of the portrait, the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi, was believed to still be alive at the time of the sale of the second portrait in 2018. The first version was stolen just before Enwonwu's death in 1994.

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