Exhibit Features Selected Works from the Saidy Collection of Contemporary African Art

The owners of the collection, Saihou and Deborah Saidy, have been passionate collectors of African art for 40 years. They were on campus for an opening reception November 6 and spoke with students and faculty during gallery talks on November 7. Both had careers in international humanitarian assistance, relocating many times over three decades. The first pieces in their collection were acquired from Ethiopia, where they lived from 1982 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1990. At each new duty station thereafter, the Saidys continued to add to their collection, attending art shows, meeting local artists and, in many cases, cultivating long-lasting relationships with them. Today, their collection comprises more than 400 works of art from 17 African countries and spans a wide range of mediums, including oil and acrylic painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and mixed media. It also features a significant selection of Shona sculptures carved from various types of stone.

Gallerist Lincoln Turner was approached about bringing The Saidy Collection to Gunn by a colleague from Miss Porter’s School, where selections from the collection were exhibited earlier this year. The artistic collaboration between the two schools was fostered by students Stella Zhu ’25 of Gunn and Rui Wang ’25 of Miss Porter’s, who co-curated a student art exhibit, “Amplifying Voices: Global Feminism,” that traveled to both schools and The Lawrenceville School during the 2024-25 school year. 

About the Collectors
Born in Gambia, Saihou Saidy graduated from Dartmouth College in 1974 and earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for 25 years and for more than two years for the UN Department of Peace-Keeping Operations. Originally from Connecticut, Deborah Saidy graduated from Smith College and earned her master’s from American University’s College of Public and International Affairs. She worked for the U.S. Department of Justice before beginning her international career with International Voluntary Services in Sudan and the United States Agency for International Development in Ethiopia. In 1992, she began a 22-year career with the United Nations, working with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Program. Following her retirement from the UN, she served as Vice President, Public Policy at World Food Programs USA in Washington, D.C. The Saidys have three children and five grandchildren, two of whom are currently enrolled at Miss Porter’s.

About The Saidy Collection
The Saidys’ collection of paintings consists mostly of works by established and emerging artists from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. The paintings represent a range of artistic styles, expressions, and techniques, including abstract art, images of everyday life, and scenic landscapes. The paintings reflect artistic expressions that are as varied as their countries of origin. Many feature vibrant colors and some explore themes relevant to social and political developments, such as the plight of refugees. The power of their visual art depicts images of the human condition, ranging from maternal love and a sense of friendship and community, to conflict and displacement. Some works depict the tensions that may exist between tradition and modernity.

In addition to paintings, the Saidys have an extensive collection of Shona sculpture from Zimbabwe. Their works are predominantly those of the first generation of Shona sculptors whose work has been internationally acclaimed and exhibited. Shona artwork has been described as exploring themes relating to family, humanity’s relationship with nature, and spirituality.

Artwork from the Saidy collection was featured in Bonham’s Modern and Contemporary African Art auctions in London, New York, and Paris in 2021 and 2022. Two of the paintings in the collection were donated to the National Gallery of Art in 2023. The Saidys welcome opportunities to share their artwork with new audiences here in the United States in the interest of promoting and appreciation for the diversity of artistic talent on the African continent. For information about the gallery, please email Turner at artgallery@frederickgunn.org or call 860-868-7334.

Above: Untitled, 2003, oil on canvas, by Kapinga Tshiapota, Democratic Republic of Congo; courtesy of The Saidy Collection

Photos by Lincoln Turner and Ali Heck Southworth