Boscoe Holder
Boscoe Holder | |
---|---|
Born | Arthur Aldwyn Holder 16 July 1921 |
Died | 21 April 2007 | (aged 85)
Occupation(s) | Painter, designer and visual artist, dancer, choreographer, musician |
Spouse |
Sheila Clarke (m. 1948) |
Children | Christian Holder |
Family | Geoffrey Holder (brother) Ralph McDaniels (second cousin) |
Boscoe Holder (16 July 1921 – 21 April 2007), born Arthur Aldwyn Holder in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, was Trinidad and Tobago's leading contemporary painter, who also had a celebrated international career spanning six decades as a designer and visual artist, dancer, choreographer and musician.
Living in
He is considered one of the top painters from the Caribbean whose work is in many collections around the world.[4] Particularly recognizable for his paintings of people of colour, reflecting his appreciation of Caribbean people and culture,[5][6] Holder often used his dancers as models, his "favourite" being his wife Sheila who was also lead dancer in his company.[4][6]
Early life
Born in Trinidad to Louise de Frense and Arthur Holder from
London years
In April 1950,
The dance company toured all over Europe and further afield (
On 31 July 1955, Holder and his troupe appeared in a concert billed as "The First Caribbean Carnival in London" held at the Royal Albert Hall, sponsored by entrepreneur Hugh Scotland.[21] In January 1959, the Boscoe Holder dance troupe was a headline act, performing "Carnival Fantasia", at the "Caribbean Carnival" organised by Claudia Jones held in St Pancras Town Hall.[22]
From 1959, for four years, Holder produced, choreographed and costumed the floorshow in the Candlelight Room of
As well as dancing, during these years Holder continued to paint and his work was exhibited at various UK galleries, including the Trafford Gallery, the
Return to Trinidad
After being based in London for 20 years, in 1970 Holder returned to Trinidad
In 2006, the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago and Gallery 101 exhibited 58 works by Holder, dated from 1991 to 2002.[5]
Personal life
In 1948, Holder married the dancer Sheila Davis Clarke, daughter of radio personality Kathleen Davis (a.k.a. "Aunty Kay"), and their son Christian was born the following year. Christian Holder eventually became a leading dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and an artist in his own right.[29]
Holder's younger brother was the actor
Death
Holder died at the age of 85 in 2007, at his home in Newtown, Port of Spain.[31] He had suffered from prostate cancer, as well as complications from diabetes.[32][33]
Awards and honours
In 1973, in recognition of Boscoe Holder's contribution to the Arts, the government of Trinidad and Tobago awarded him the Hummingbird Medal (gold) and named a street after him.[34]
In 1978, the
Then-Mayor of
On 7 April 1991, Boscoe Holder, his son Christian, and brother Geoffrey received, in Philadelphia, the first Drexel University Award for International Excellence.[14]
On 31 October 2003, Boscoe Holder was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by the University of the West Indies.[14][36]
Legacy
In December 2004, the government of Trinidad and Tobago issued an official Christmas series of postage stamps featuring six of Holder's paintings.[14][37]
Holder's work was included in a 2010 exhibition in Berlin curated by Peter Doig and Hilton Als.[15][38][39]
In October 2011, an exhibition of 50 of Boscoe Holder's artworks was dedicated at the Upper Room Art Gallery at Top of the Mount,
In 2012, Holder's former studio at 84 Woodford Street, Port of Spain, became the "101 Art Gallery at Holder's Studio", owned by Mark Pereira.[41][42]
References
- ^ a b Peggy Schwartz and Murray Schwartz, The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus, Yale University Press, 2011, p. 117.
- ^ Lloyd Bradley, Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital, London: Serpent's Tail, 2013, p. 68.
- ^ a b Christian Holder, "Boscoe Holder" (obituary), The Stage, 1 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Boscoe Holder", 101 Art Gallery @ Holder's Studio.
- ^ a b Richard Bolai, "The Curtain Closes – Boscoe Holder", thebookmann, 16 February 2006.
- ^ The Trinidad Guardian, 11 May 2007.
- ^ a b c "Boscoe Holder chronology at The Upper Room Art Gallery website". Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ Raymond Ramcharitar, "Boscoe, holder of one more award".
- ^ Rita Pemberton, Debbie McCollin, Gelien Matthews, Michael Toussaint, "Holder, Boscoe Arthur Alwyn (1921–2007)", Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago (New Edition), Rowman & Littlefield, 2018, pp. 173–4.
- ^ John Cowley, "Boscoe Holder" (obituary), The Guardian, 2 May 2007.
- ^ Geoffrey Holder biography at IMDB.
- ^ Jennifer Dunning and William McDonald, "Geoffrey Holder, Dancer, Actor, Painter and More, Dies at 84", The New York Times, 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b John Cowley, "London is the Place: Caribbean Music in the Context of Empire 1900–60", in Paul Oliver (ed.), Black Music In Britain: Essays on the Afro Asian Contribution to Popular Music, Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1990, pp. 57–76.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Boscoe Holder biography Archived 14 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine at christianholder.com.
- ^ a b Hilton Als, Peter Doig, and Angus Cook, "Discovering the Art of Boscoe Holder, Trinidadian Master", New York Review of Books, 3 September 2010.
- ^ "The Emperor Jones". British Universities Film & Video Council.
- ^ "The Emperor Jones (1953)", BFI Film Forever.
- ^ "The Emperor Jones (1953 TV Movie) | Full Cast & Crew", IMDb.
- ^ Campbell's of London website.
- ^ Ray Funk, "British Pathe offers historic Carnival, pan and calypso", Guardian Media, 29 April 2014.
- ^ Ray Funk, "London's first Caribbean Carnival?" Archived 14 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 23 June 2015.
- ^ Ray Funk, "Notting Hill Carnival: Mas and the mother country", Caribbean Beat, Issue 100 (November/December 2009).
- ^ "Boscoe Holder (1921–2007)", IMDb.
- ^ "Edmundo Ros", BBC Television, 6 September 1967. Listing in Radio Times, Issue 1764, 30 August 1957, p. 19.
- ^ Serafín Mendez Mendez, Gail A. Cueto, "Boscoe Holder", Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood Press, 2003, pp. 214–16.
- ^ "2 Dancing Dates in 2 Weeks" (from Trinidad Guardian, 11 December 1960), in Christopher Balme, Gordon Collier (eds), Derek Walcott: The Journeyman Years. Occasional Prose 1957–1974. Volume 2: Performing Arts , Editions Rodopi, 2013, p. 227.
- ^ Mary Adam, "Review of Boscoe Holder by Geoffrey MacLean". November 2004.
- ^ Aliyyah Eniath, "A Tribute To Boscoe Holder – Rare Glimpses Of His Life Through The Eyes Of His Beloved" Archived 2014-05-14 at the Wayback Machine. Caribbean Belle, 2012.
- ^ Christian Holder website.
- ^ "Geoffrey Holder, Bond villain and dancer, dies aged 84", BBC News, 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Boscoe Holder, The Life of the Late" Archived 11 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Sunday Express (Trinidad), 31 July 2011.
- ^ Carol Matroo, "Friends and family paint pretty picture – Fond farewell to Boscoe Holder", The Trinidad Guardian, 27 April 2007.
- ^ "No funeral for Boscoe Holder", Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 24 April 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Boscoe Holder Street is next to Barataria and is located in San Juan/Laventille, Trinidad and Tobago. Boscoe Holder Street has a length of 0.04 kilometres."
- ^ "Boscoe Holder, The Life of the Late" Archived 11 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad Express Newspapers, 31 July 2011.
- ^ "2003 Honorary Graduands", St Augustine News, UWI, October 2003 – March 2004, p. 24.
- ^ "Boscoe Holder (First Day Cover)" Archived 21 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad and Tobago Postal Corporation.
- ^ Nicholas Laughlin, "What's valid?" (blog on Boscoe Holder), 6 September 2010.
- ^ Christopher Harrity, "#TBT: The Private Art of Boscoe Holder", Advocate.com, 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Discovering the Art of Boscoe Holder" Archived 14 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad Express Newspapers, 15 October 2011.
- ^ "About us", 101 Art Gallery website.
- ^ 101 Art Gallery @ Holder's Studio.
Further reading
- Geoffrey MacLean, Boscoe Holder; introduction by Geoffrey Holder. Trinidad: MacLean Pub., 1994. ISBN 9789768066107.
External links
- Boscoe Holder biography at christianholder.com
- Summary of the life of Boscoe Holder, Trinidad Express Newspapers, 31 July 2011.
- "Boscoe Holder", The Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago.
- Boscoe Holder chronology and The Upper Room Art Gallery.
- "Boscoe Holder (1921–2007)", IMDb entry, including credits from three episodes of the Danger Man (US: Secret Agent) TV series.
- Stephen Bourne, "Boscoe Holder" (obituary), The Independent on Sunday, 23 April 2007.
- John Cowley, Obituary, The Guardian, 2 May 2007.
- "Boscoe Holder Vintage Footage": Boscoe Holder singing and playing the piano; and Sheila Holder singing, with Boscoe at the piano. YouTube.
- Hilton Als, Peter Doig, and Angus Cook, "Discovering the Art of Boscoe Holder, Trinidadian Master", New York Review of Books, 3 September 2010.
- Rhoda Reddock, Address to Special Viewing and Dedication of Exhibition "Life Drawing: The Artists' Male Studies – Paintings and Drawings" – Boscoe Holder – 2 October 2011, Upper Room Art Gallery, Mt. St. Benedict, St. Augustine.
- "Drum Dance 1956", British Pathé, 12/03/1956: "Boscoe Holder's dance troupe at London's 'Cote d'Azure Club' perform some native Caribbean dancing".