Ben Enwonwu
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Ben Enwonwu Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
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Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu
Biography
Early life
Ben Enwonwu was born a twin on 14 July 1917 into the noble family of Umueze-Aroli in
Upon his father's death in 1921, Enwonwu inherited his tools, going on to perfect the art of carving in the style of indigenous Igbo sculpture, begun earlier with his father, who first nurtured his precocious talent.
Education
Between 1921 and 1931, Enwonwu attended five primary schools: St. Joseph's Elementary School, Onitsha (1926–28); St, Theresa's Elementary School, Umuahia (1928–29); St. Mary's Primary School, Port Harcourt (1929–30); Holy TrinIbity Primary; and St. Mary's Primary School, both in Onitsha (1930–31). In 1933, Enwonwu attended St. Patrick's School,
In 1944, under a joint
Nkiru Nzegwu states that the racist atmosphere he encountered during his stay in England sparked his interest in entering this programme. Anthropology offered a space for the scientific study of the races, their physical and mental characteristics, customs, and social relationships. In 1937, Murray exhibited Enwonwu's work at the Zwemmer Gallery in London[6][8] In 1969, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.[4]
Career
After working with Murray for many years, Enwonwu was hired as a teacher at the Government College of Umuahia. According to Sylvester Ogbechie, author of Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist, Murray was displeased with the university's choice to provide Enwonwu with the same salary as the other seasoned teachers. This created a rift between both men. Eventually Murray left Government College and Enwonwu replaced him as art teacher.[7] He continued his work as an art teacher in other various schools, including mission school in Calabar Province (1940–41), and Edo College, Benin City (1941–43). He was art adviser to the Nigerian government from 1948.
During the years following 1950, he toured and lectured in the
In 1959, Enwonwu was appointed Supervisor in the Information Service Department office in Nigeria.
Enwonwu executed portraits of Nigerians as private commissions, and illustrated Amos Tutuola's 1958 novel The Brave African Huntress.[11] He maintained a studio in London and was a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, London.
Impact on the modern art world
Ogbechie describes his art as "[the opening up of] third space in art history whose nature and parameters are at variance with art history's exclusionary narratives of modernity and its inscription of the modern artist-subject as a white, Western European male".[4] Recognition of his bronze sculpture of the Queen proved that he, as an African modern artist, used his practice to develop a new kind of modern art whose ideals of representation and notions of artistic identity were different from conventional art-historical narrative of European modernist practice.[7]
Tutu, a series of three portraits of the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi ('Tutu'), were painted by Enwonwu in 1973 and have been missing since 1975. One of the three paintings was rediscovered in 2017 in a London flat.[12][13] It was sold for £1,205,000 in an auction held by Bonhams.[14] The portrait of Tutu, one of the three made by the painter, is a Nigerian national icon and considered a reconciliation symbol between the government and Biafran separatists after the civil war.[13]
A painting by Enwonwu, titled "Owo Market" and showing a marketplace scene in the Nigerian city of
Notable works
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"Dogari", 1949
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"Father and Son"
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"Fulani Girl of Rupp", 1949
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"Head of Hausa", 1958
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"Head of Yoruba Girl"
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"Man with Banana Leaf"
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"Nkatamuo"
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"Waterside Scene", 1950
- Portrait of Chief Candido Joao Da Rocha (1951) which was exhibited during FESTAC LAGOS 1977
- Bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II (1956)[20]
- Seven sculptures for the Daily Mirror newspaper headquarters (1961)
- Sango (1964): the Yoruba god of lightning and thunder
- Ogbanje which is currently exhibited at Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (1967)
- Christine (1967): Sold in 2019 for $1.4 million.[21]
- Tutu (1973)
- Risen Christ (1986): was displayed University of Ibadan but was torched as a result of a political-religious tensions
Enwonwu's work is displayed in the National Gallery of Modern Art, Lagos.[22] His works can also be viewed at the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art Archived 15 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
Awards
- 1944 – Shell Petroleumscholarship: to study in the United Kingdom
- 1954 – National Merit Award: for academic and intellectual attainment in Nigeria
- 1958 – Commonwealth Certificate in London: for contributions to art by the Royal Institute of Art
- 1958 – Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire(MBE)
- 1971 – Officer of the National Order of the Republic in Senegal
- 1980 – National Order of Merit in Nigeria: for contributions to art in Nigeria
See also
References
- ^ "The painter who 'Africanised Queen Elizabeth'". BBC. 17 October 2019.
- ^ a b Chuks Iloegbunam, "Independent expressions: Ben Enwonwu", The Guardian, 4 March 1994.
- ^ "Enwonwu: A Young Crater on Mercury Named for an African Modernist Artist". NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Enwonwu's Legacy". The Ben Enwonwu Foundation. BEF Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ Estrada, Andrea. "Art Historian Publishes Monograph on Ben Enwonwu". 93106.
- ^ a b Ogbechie, Sylvester (2008). Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist. New York: University Rochester Press. p. 38.
- ^ a b c d Ogbechie, Sylvester (2008). Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist. New York: University Rochester Press.
- ^ Nzegwu, Nkiru (1998). "The Africanized Queen: Metonymic Site of Transformation" (PDF). African Studies Quarterly. 1 (4).
- ^ "News of the Week" (1910/09/02). The Nigerian Chronicle, P.2. Accessed from (NewsBank/Readex, Database: World Newspaper Archive.
- Royal Collection Trust. Archived from the originalon 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ R. V. (2 November 1958). "Adebisi's Odyssey; THE BRAVE AFRICAN HUNTRESS. By Amos Tutuola. Illustrated by Ben Enwonwu". The New York Times.
- ^ Brown, Mark (6 February 2018). "Tutu's return: missing Nigerian masterpiece found in London flat". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Decades after it went missing, Nigerian masterpiece is found in London apartment". CBC Radio. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ Chutel, Lynsey. "The long lost painting known as Africa's Mona Lisa has sold for a record price". Quartz. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ The Repair Shop – 60 Min Versions: Episode 8. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "UK building relationship with Africa through art". vanguardngr.com. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ Ayodeji Rotinwa (23 April 2021). "Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu's greatest work is much loved by the art market—but it should mean more to art history too". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "Nigerian Sculpture at United Nations Headquarters". United Nations. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu M.B.E (Nigerian, 1917-1994) Anyanwu (1956)". Bonhams. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "Ben Enwonwu: The Nigerian painter behind 'Africa's Mona Lisa'". BBC News. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Ben Enwonwu: The Nigerian painter behind 'Africa's Mona Lisa'". BBC News. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART (NGMA), LAGOS". National Gallery of Art. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
External links
- Andrea Estrada, "Art Historian Publishes Monograph on Ben Enwonwu", 93106, Vol. 19, No. 11, 23 February 2009, University of California, Santa Barbara.