Written by On the 5th of February 1994, Professor Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu, MBE , the great Nigerian artist and sculptor and husband of Mrs Caroline Obiageli Enwonwu went to be with the Lord.
Ben Enwonwu (1917–1994) was one of Nigeria’s most celebrated artists and a pioneering figure in modern African art. A sculptor, painter and educator, he played a major role in bringing Nigerian and African artistic traditions into international modern art.
Born in Onitsha, Enwonwu studied art in Nigeria and later at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. His work drew deeply from Igbo cultural traditions while also engaging with European modernism. His sculpture Anyanwu, commissioned for the United Nations, became one of his most recognised works.
Enwonwu is perhaps best known internationally for Tutu, his 1974 portrait of an unidentified young Yoruba woman, which became an iconic image of African modernism after its rediscovery in 2017.
Through his art and teaching, Enwonwu challenged colonial ideas about African art and asserted the importance, sophistication and contemporary relevance of African artistic expression. He remains a foundational figure in the history of modern Nigerian art.
