Ernest Cole

South African | 1940 - 1990

Ernest Cole was a South African artist who was born in 1940.

How much does an Ernest Cole cost?

Ernest Cole's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices of up to 31,641 USD.

What is Ernest Cole's most expensive photography?

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.

Where can I see Ernest Cole's works?

Their work is currently being shown at multiple venues like Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba. Numerous key galleries and museums such as MACBA, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona have featured Ernest Cole's work in the past.

Ernest Cole in the news

Ernest Cole has been featured in articles for Ocula, Aperture and BmoreArt. The most recent article is Uncertainty & Possibility written for Aesthetica in May 2026. 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)

By Ernest Cole

Goodman Gallery

Untitled VI (from House of Bondage)

By Ernest Cole

Goodman Gallery

A Funeral Service in a Baptist Church at Lowdes County, Alabama (from Deep South/New York City Life)

By Ernest Cole

Goodman Gallery

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At Auction

Notable Lots

Twelve work from House of Bondage

By Ernest Cole

Twelve works from the books House of Bondage and Ernest Cole: Photographer

By Ernest Cole

Ernest Cole Photographer

By Ernest Cole

VIEW 15 ARTWORKS

Recent Auction Results

Driving Lesson ,1965

By Ernest Cole

-3%

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Revellers at a music festival - Ernest Cole

Revellers at a music festival ,1965

By Ernest Cole

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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

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VIEW 8 AUCTION RESULTS

Current Exhibitions

Flashpoint! Protest Photography In Print

Printed Matter

Chelsea | New York | USA

Mar 12, 2026 - May 31, 2026

Not All Travellers Walk Roads - Of Humanity as Practice. 36th São Paulo Biennial

Oscar Niemeyer Museum

Curitiba | Brazil

Mar 20, 2026 - Jun 07, 2026

Past Exhibitions

The True America: Photographs by Ernest Cole

Maryland Institute College of Art Galleries

Baltimore | Maryland | USA

Nov 08, 2025 - Dec 15, 2025

VIEW 26 EXHIBITIONS

Articles

Uncertainty & Possibility

Aesthetica May 10, 2026

The edge is a location of both tension and possibility. It is a moment where certainty falters and perspective shifts.

From Apartheid to Agriculture, Kyotographie Explores Life on the Edge

Ocula Mar 04, 2026

The Japanese photography festival's 2026 programme explores the idea of "edge", finding tensions and transitions in depictions of an evolving South Africa, as well as rock icons, farming life and radical feminism.

Tracing Africa’s Photographic History in Books

Aperture Dec 12, 2025

The curator Oluremi C. Onabanjo speaks about Africa’s political transformations and the role of publishing in shaping artistic knowledge.

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