Ernest Cole

South African | 1940 - 1990

Ernest Cole was a South African artist who was born in 1940. Their work is currently being shown at Minneapolis Institute of Art. Numerous key galleries and museums such as Magnum Paris have featured Ernest Cole's work in the past.Ernest Cole's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 3,274 USD to 31,641 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 2020 the record price for this artist at auction is 31,641 USD for Twelve works: The House of Bondage, sold at Aspire Art Auctions, Johannesburg in 2020. Ernest Cole has been featured in articles for , and . The most recent article is written for The Guardian in February 2025. The artist died in 1990.

Artist's alternative names: Ernest Levi Tsoloane Cole

Featured for Sale

Nashville, Tennessee (from Deep South/New York City Life) ,1973

By Ernest Cole

Goodman Gallery

Untitled VI (from House of Bondage) ,1960

By Ernest Cole

Goodman Gallery

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At Auction

Notable Lots

Twelve work from House of Bondage

By Ernest Cole

Twelve works: The House of Bondage

By Ernest Cole

+17%

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Driving Lesson ,1965

By Ernest Cole

-3%

below mid-estimate

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Recent Auction Results

Driving Lesson ,1965

By Ernest Cole

-3%

below mid-estimate

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Rented cars are a status symbol at middle-class marriages. Expensive weddings can leave couples broke for a year - Ernest Cole

Rented cars are a status symbol at middle-class marriages. Expensive weddings can leave couples broke for a year ,1965

By Ernest Cole

+9%

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Revellers at a music festival - Ernest Cole

Revellers at a music festival ,1965

By Ernest Cole

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Current Exhibitions

The True America: Photographs by Ernest Cole

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Minneapolis | Minnesota | USA

Feb 01,2025 - Jun 22,2025

Past Exhibitions

House of Bondage: Vintage Prints from the Ernest Cole Family Trust - Part II

Magnum Paris

11e | Paris | France

Jan 22,2025 - Mar 29,2025

Ernest Cole: House of Bondage: Vintage works from the Ernest Cole Family Trust - Part 3

Goodman Gallery, Cape Town

Cape Town | South Africa

Feb 08,2025 - Mar 20,2025

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Articles

The Guardian 20/02/2025

A new Raoul Peck documentary showcases the recently rediscovered work of the photographer who drew parallels between apartheid South Africa and America鈥檚 battle for equality.

Aperture 14/02/2025

From Arielle Bobb-Willis鈥檚 vividly playful tableaux to Ernest Cole鈥檚 incisive photographs of America in the late 1960s, here are essential titles to read this Black history month.

Observer 10/02/2025

Cole's photographs, primarily taken during the 1960s and early 1970s, capture the harsh realities of apartheid in South Africa and the experiences of Black Americans in the United States.

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