South African hero and former president Nelson Mandela’s memorabilia from his Robben Island imprisonment are making the NFT auction market this season.

Five watercolor paintings made by the great African freedom fighter while he was imprisoned for his activism against apartheid rule in the southern African country have now been auctioned off as NFTs. The paintings were part of an NFT collection called ‘My Robben Island,’ which included his arrest warrant. 

His paintings depict views through his prison cell’s tiny window. His brushstrokes masterfully etch out landscapes including a chapel and a lighthouse. Each of the artwork bears Nelson Mandela’s signature.

Each of the NFT paintings cost $700 at the Modern and Contemporary African Art section of Bonhams. Speaking about the ascendancy of NFTs in the art market, Giles Peppiat, director of the institution, remarked that NFTs as digital art will reach audiences who don’t flock to art galleries or museums, adding that these new-age digital art collectors with huge wealth have become an important part of the market.

The former revolutionist’s daughter, Makaziwe, noted that this collection of her father’s art represents “the triumph of the human spirit.”

Besides the watercolor NFTs, a motivational letter he scribed was also transformed as an NFT. The letter, titled ‘The Motivation,’ contains Mandela’s scribbles on how the best of our dreams can be achieved if we are prepped up to ‘endure’ the challenges of life.

The author of ‘Long Walk Of Freedom’ fought Apartheid and human rights abuses in South Africa for years. He was repeatedly arrested for his campaigns against the government, eventually spending 18 years of his collective 27 years in imprisonment at the maximum-security prison in Robben Island. He spent much of his Robben Island imprisonment carrying out campaigns, writing, studying, and painting.