LITHOGRAPH; signed by Randolph Beaumont¹ titled "BAKOTA MASK a/p"

BAKOTA MASK rendering is from a wood mask which is used for festivity and celebrations from the Bakota tribe. This tribe is from the Gabon borders of the Congo River in Africa.

LITHOGRAPH; signed by Randolph Beaumont¹ titled "BAKOTA MASK a/p"

BAKOTA MASK rendering is from a wood mask which is used for festivity and celebrations from the Bakota tribe. This tribe is from the Gabon borders of the Congo River in Africa.

Randolph Beaumont was a ghost name that was created by Mr. James Ray Baker, of  New York. Mr. James Ray Baker was an Interior Designer, that Mr. Neal Prince had hired to assist him on the new Inter-Continental Kinshasa Hotel in Kinshasa, Zaire (which is now Congo) in 1970. Under the direction of Mr. Prince, each Inter-Continental Hotel was designed and created to give each guest the feeling of the local culture, thus giving each Hotel is own personality. It is important to realize that the flow of investment for new projects within under developed countries is better when you have the local people supporting your venture. Mr. Prince took this school of thought one step further, by bringing the local Artist and Master Craftsman into the process, the locals embraced the projects. By doing so, the local Artist works were displayed in the lobbies, restaurant’s and guest rooms. With respect to the Inter-Continental Kinshasa Hotel, there was no Artist in the local area that would have been able to supply each room with framed hanging art. Therefore, Mr. Baker created various renderings that were copied, framed and signed under a ghost name of "Randolph Beaumont". Mr. Bakers framed renderings allowed each guest rooms the personal touch of being in Zaire, Africa. These items were samples of what were actually hung in the guest rooms to create that local personality of the Hotel. The Hotel opened to the public in 1971 with great success.