Ben Enwonwu is widely regarded as the founding figure of Nigerian modernism and one of the most important African artists of the twentieth century. The son of an Onitsha carver, he studied art under Kenneth C. Murray at Government College, Umuahia, then won a scholarship to Britain, where he studied at Goldsmiths, the Ruskin School in Oxford and the Slade School of Fine Art, becoming the Slade's first African graduate in 1947, followed by anthropology studies in London. He worked as both painter and sculptor, blending Igbo and Yoruba forms with European academic training. His paintings are known for fluid, elongated dancing figures (the 'Africa Dances' and 'Negritude' themes) and refined portraits, while his sculptures include the monumental 'Anyanwu' and the 1957 bronze of Queen Elizabeth II, the first royal commission given to an African artist. He served as art adviser to the Nigerian government and later as a professor at the University of Ife. His 1974 portrait of Princess Adetutu Ademiluyi, 'Tutu', became a national icon and, on its rediscovery in 2018, set the auction record for a Nigerian modern artist. His market is the strongest of any Nigerian modernist, and authentication increasingly relies on the Ben Enwonwu Foundation and major auction specialists.
School or movement: Nigerian modernism (pioneer); Negritude-influenced 'African modernism'.
Influenced by his father's Igbo carving tradition, Kenneth C. Murray, Yoruba and Igbo masquerade and dance, Negritude movement, European academic training (Slade).
Influenced generations of Nigerian modernists, Oliver Enwonwu (son, director of the Ben Enwonwu Foundation).
