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Artist

Ben Enwonwu

Sculptors

Ben Enwonwu was a Nigerian sculptor and painter widely regarded as the most influential African artist of the mid-twentieth century, celebrated for work that fused Western academic training with Igbo artistic traditions. Trained in London, he became known for bronze and wood sculptures exploring themes of African identity and dance, most famously his Anyanwu, a stylized bronze female figure symbolizing the rising sun and the Igbo goddess of the sun, cast in multiple versions including one installed at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Enwonwu was also a prominent public intellectual and advocate for African modernism, arguing against colonial-era assumptions that African art was a thing of the past rather than a living, developing tradition.

Facts
Birth Year
1917 1
Death Year
1994 1
Nationality
Nigerian 1
Birth Date
1917-07-14 1
Death Date
1994-02-05 1
Birthplace
Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria 1
Death Place
Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria 1
Training
Slade School of Fine Art, University College London (1944); Ruskin School, Oxford (1945) 1
Classification
Gender
Male 1
Connections

Practices

Painting, Art Forms
Source Wikipedia: Ben Enwonwu
Sculpture, Art Forms
Source Wikipedia: Ben Enwonwu

Works Created

Anyanwu, Works
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Nigeria

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Source Wikipedia: Ben EnwonwuLead sentence 1
Quote, Lead sentence 1
Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE (14 July 1917 – 5 February 1994), better known as Ben Enwonwu, was a Nigerian painter and sculptor.

Originated In

Nigeria

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Wikipedia: Ben Enwonwu
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Ben Enwonwu
  • Lead, first sentence (birth year)
    Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE (14 July 1917
  • Lead, first sentence (birth date)
    Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE (14 July 1917
  • Early life, birth sentence (birthplace)
    Ben Enwonwu was born a twin on 14 July 1917 into the noble family of Umueze-Aroli in Onitsha, Anambra State, southeastern region of Nigeria.
  • Lead section
    Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE (14 July 1917 - 5 February 1994), better known as Ben Enwonwu, was a Nigerian painter and sculptor.
  • Infobox: death_date
    February 5, 1994
  • Education section, England studies
    In 1944, under a joint Shell Petroleum Company and British Council scholarship, he attended the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London, and in 1945, the Ruskin School, Ashmolean, Oxford University
  • Lead section
    Arguably the most influential African artist of the 20th century, his pioneering career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of modern African art.
View the Source
Wikidata: Ben Enwonwu
Wikidata Q4885605, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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