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There were high hopes for the Thursday morning auction.
African art enthusiasts longed to catch a glimpse of more than 1,000 pieces and dreamed of the display possibilities. The building manager was optimistic about finally transforming the packed storage area into a conference room. And an attorney yearned for his clients to get at least some of their massive civil court settlement after years of back and forth with the owner of the artwork.
Those hopes were dashed after the owner, Sam Njunuri, filed an 11th-hour petition for bankruptcy Wednesday night, prolonging the controversy surrounding the African art once stored in a Harris County warehouse at taxpayer expense.
The filing surprised and disappointed potential bidders, some of whom had flown in from out of state, only to show up at the southwest Houston office building and learn the sale had been canceled.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Reginald Butler, an art enthusiast from Meyerland. “I’ve been waiting years to see something like this.”
The various wood and metal statues, carvings, masks and other objects that sat in the Harris County Precinct 1 warehouse in southeast Houston for several years were set to be auctioned off in a sheriff’s sale to satisfy a civil court judgment against Njunuri, in a real estate-related lawsuit stretching back to July 2017.
The lawsuit was filed by two women who said they entered into a housing rental agreement with Njunuri who later changed the locks on the home and sold their belongings. A jury found the two were owed nearly $1 million in damages and legal fees.
State District Judge Rabeea Collier ordered the sheriff’s sale of the artwork last October.
The African pieces were set to be sold together with a minimum bid of $4,400. The new owner would have walked away with a clean ownership title and bill of sale — something that currently does not exist.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found Njunuri, a Houston real estate agent originally from Kenya, never produced any records proving he owns the works, nor any documents detailing the age, provenance or countries of origin for the pieces. Njunuri has said he wanted to create a museum or community center in Houston to display the art.
The artwork also was at the center of a public corruption investigation involving Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, whose office took possession of and stored the objects under curious circumstances in 2018. Ellis was cleared of wrongdoing by a Harris County grand jury in 2021.
Njunuri, who was at the Regency Plaza office building Thursday morning, declined to directly address reporters’ questions, directing them to business partner Stanley Reid.
Reid declined to discuss the bankruptcy filing or civil lawsuit and instead reiterated Njunuri’s long publicized hopes of creating a museum in Houston.
Asked why a museum has yet to be established, Reid said there is no one specific answer and that creating a museum involves “money and resources.”
“Apparently, and for various reasons, that has not been availed as of this time,” he said.
Wendy Atterberry, the building manager of Regency Plaza, said Njunuri owes more than $50,000 in rent. Reid denied that, saying he does not believe there is any “disharmony with the ownership of the building and rent being paid.”
Aliou Silla, an art dealer, walks through a collection of sculptures allegedly owned by Sam Njunuri inside Regency Plaza, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Pierre Brooks, an art collector from New York City, shakes hands with Sam Njunuri, the alleged owner of a collection of artwork inside Regency Plaza, at right, during a canceled auction, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. Brooks took a red eye flight from New York City to bid on the artwork. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Saydou, who declined to provide his last name, at center, points out various pieces from a collection of art work owned by Sam Njunuri inside Regency Plaza to Pierre Brooks, an art collector who flew in from New York City, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) People listen to Stanley Reid, a friend of Njunuri, speak on his behalf during a canceled auction for a collection of artwork allegedly owned by Sam Njunuri inside Regency Plaza, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Joseph Walker, the attorney, speaks to the media about the case involving his client and Sam Njunuri, an alleged owner of a collection of artwork inside Regency Plaza, during a canceled auction event on Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) A tag stating the medium and dimensions of an art work allegedly owned by Sam Njunuri inside Regency Plaza, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Auction attendees walk throuhg a collection of artwork allegedly owned by Sam Njunuri inside Regency Plaza, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. The auction was canceled due to a bankruptcy filling. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Sam Njunuri, alleged owner of a a collection of artwork inside Regency Plaza, at center, along with a group of friends and auction attendees takes the elevator down after an canceled auction for his alleged artwork, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Hundreds of pieces of African art are housed inside two Regency Plaza rooms on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Houston. The artwork was previously stored at taxpayer expense in a Harris County warehouse. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing) Hundreds of pieces of African art are housed inside two Regency Plaza rooms on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Houston. The artwork was previously stored at taxpayer expense in a Harris County warehouse. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing) A collection of art work allegedly owned by Sam Njunuri inside the Regency Plaza, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Houston Landing) Regency Plaza building manager Wendy Atterberry shows around a room housing hundreds of African art pieces in the Regency Plaza on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing) Regency Plaza building manager Wendy Atterberry looks for the storage agreement to house hundreds of pieces of African art in the Regency Plaza on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing) A Harris County Constable notice is taped to the door of one of the two rooms housing hundreds of pieces of African art on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesús / Houston Landing)
Joseph Walker, the attorney for the two women who filed the civil lawsuit, said he believes Njunuri will remain on the hook for the $989,000 court judgment.
“Filing bankruptcy wasn’t a strategic move,” Walker said. “It was a move to stop the sale today and he had weeks and weeks and weeks that he could have done it, but he chose to wait until after the close of business.”
Butler, who drove about 15 minutes to the sale from his home in Meyerland, said he was stopped in the lobby — before he could even catch a glimpse at the art — and told the sale was canceled. He hurried to phone his friends, some of whom were planning to drive several hours and told them to turn around.
“They could’ve publicized better that it was canceled instead of allowing everyone to get excited,” Butler said. “I wasn’t planning to leave empty handed.”
Pierre Brooks first heard about the auction three days ago when an advertisement popped up on his phone. It didn’t take long for him to decide to book a flight from New York to Houston.
With a personal collection of nearly 400 pieces, Brooks said he has several on display in his Harlem apartment, as well as his own 4,000-square-foot museum in a renovated barn on his property in upstate New York. He said he previously loaned pieces to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After seeing Njunuri’s collection in person, Brooks said it was wide-ranging and “very interesting.” He said he could envision it in a museum and he hopes that can come to fruition.
“I had to see the collection to see if there was some salt of the earth or just manicured items,” he said. “And it has salt to it.”
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