Olowe of Ise is widely considered the greatest Yoruba sculptor of the early twentieth century and one of the most celebrated named artists of classical African art. Born in Efon-Alaiye, he began as a messenger at the court of the Arinjale (king) of Ise and built his career there, while his reputation spread to royal and wealthy patrons in Ikere, Akure, Ilesa, Idanre and Ogbagi, who commissioned palace doors, veranda posts, lidded bowls and ritual figures. His style is instantly recognisable: figures carved almost fully in the round from a single block, standing out boldly from the background, with elongated forward-leaning necks, ovoid heads, stacked and tiered compositions and a strong sense of movement; the works were originally painted, though the pigment has mostly worn. Between about 1904 and 1910 he carved the main palace doors at Ise, which show the reception of British colonial officers; the two leaves are now at the Metropolitan Museum and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. A door and lintel from the Ikere palace were shown at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition in London and are now in the British Museum, and a veranda post of a king and senior wife is in the Art Institute of Chicago. Fewer than fifty of his works are known to survive, so authentic pieces are museum-level rarities; architect David Adjaye drew on his veranda posts for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
School or movement: Yoruba traditional carving (Ise-Ekiti / Ekiti court sculpture).
Influenced by Ekiti Yoruba carving tradition, Yoruba royal court patronage.
Influenced David Adjaye (NMAAHC design), later Ekiti carvers.
