" Art is not static, like culture. Art changes its form with the times. It is setting the clock back to expect that the art form of Africa today must resemble that of yesterday otherwise the former will not reflect the African image. African art has always, even long before Western influence, continued to evolve through change and adaptation to new circumstances. And in like manner, the African view of art has followed the trend of cultural change up to the modern times. "

Ben Enwonwu-1950

Biography

1917:

14 July; Birth of Benedict Chukadibia Enwonwu. He was born a twin into the noble family of Umueze-Aroli in Onitsha, Nigeria. His father, Omenka Odigwe Emeka Enwonwu was a technician who worked with the Royal Niger Company. He was also a member of the Onitsha Council of Chiefs and a traditional sculptor of repute. His mother, Ilom was a successful cloth merchant

1926 -1934:

1926 - 1928: Attends St Joseph's Elementary School, Onitsha

1928 - 1929: Attends St. Theresa's Elementary School, Umuahia

1929 - 1930: Attends St. Mary's Primary School, Port-Harcourt

1930 - 1931: Attends Holy Trinity Primary School and St Mary's Primary School, both in Onitsha

1934:
Attends St Patrick's School, Ibusat and later Government College, Ibadan under Kenneth C. Murray, an Englishman, and education officer in charge of art education in the colonial civil service and later director of antiquities. Leaves with Kenneth Murray for Government College, Umuahia where he spends the next five years

1937:
Kenneth Murray exhibits the works of his students at Zwemmer Gallery, London from 6 July - 7 August. Among his students is Ben Enwonwu, recognized as the most gifted and technically proficient. The exhibition is a great success

1938:
Enwonwu's works were shown at the Glasgow Empire exhibition

1939:
Awarded prize money and a bronze medal for his work now in the art collection of the International Business Machines Corporation in San Francisco. Teaches Art at Government College, Umuahia and missionary schools in the Calabar Province including College of the Holy Child Jesus, Ifuhot in Ikot-Ekpene

1941-1944:
Teaches at Edo College, Benin City. He takes up apprenticeship with the guild of Benin bronze casters. This period has a profound influence on his practice

1943:
‘Exhibition of paintings and wood carvings by Ben C. Enwonwu’; 31 December 1943 to 15 January 1944. He was to meet Mr L. N. Harford, a director at Shell Company of West Africa. Harford was instrumental to Enwonwu's joint scholarship from Shell and the British Council to study Art in the United Kingdom

1944:
Enrols for remedial classes at Goldsmiths College, London and later Slade School of Art, University College, London

1946:
Participates in the International Exhibition of Modern Art, 'Musee d’ Art Moderne’, Paris on the invitation of Sir Julian Huxley, Director-General of UNESCO

1947:
Enwonwu graduates with a Slade Diploma in Fine Art and first-class honours in Sculpture. Ewonwu holds the first in a series of exhibitions at Berkeley Galleries, London which firmly establishes him internationally as a modern African artist. Enrols at the University College for postgraduate studies in Anthropology

1948:
Graduates and becomes a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Elected into the Royal Society of British Artists. Returns to Nigeria in July 1960, as art supervisor in the information services department of the colonial office in Nigeria

1949:
Enwonwu holds show at the Exhibition Centre, Lagos in December. He begins famous series; ‘African Dances' and 'Agbogho–Mmuo’, the Onitsha masquerades

1950:
April; Enwonwu holds exhibition at Berkeley Galleries, London
13 July - 14 August: Enwonwu holds major exhibition at Gallery Apollinaire in Milan. He joins Presence African Cultural Organisation and remains a member till 1966

1954:
Enwonwu becomes member of the most distinguished Order of the British Empire. He is one of the youngest holders of that honour in the Commonwealth. Commissioned to produce a sculpture for the University of Ibadan’s, new Chapel of Resurrection. The finished sculpture, the Risen Christ, is carved from a single block of iroko and is arguably Enwonwu's finest sculpture in wood

1955:
Enwonwu is commissioned by the Nigerian Federal Government to produce a sculpture that would symbolize a new Nigerian nation for the National Museum at Lagos
The resulting sculpture, Anyanwu remains one of his most successful and visible works. A copy of this work was presented by the Nigerian Government to the United Nations in 1961 in promotion of world peace

1957:
In preparation for the visit of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II to Nigeria, Enwonwu is commissioned to sculpt her bronze portrait. He was the first African to receive such an honour. The sittings began at Buckingham Palace and the resulting full-length sculpture was shown at the RBA exhibition that same year

1958:
Awarded the Commonwealth certificate for contributions to art by the Royal Institute of Art, Commerce in Agriculture, London

1959:
Appointed art advisor to the Nigerian Federal Government, a position he held till 1968

1961:
Receives major commission by any African artist in England for six wooden figures for the Daily Mirror

1964:
Executes famous public sculpture of Sango, the Yoruba god of lightning and thunder for the National Electricity Board (now PHCN) headquarters in Lagos

1966:
Made a Fellow, University of Lagos from 1966 - 1968

1968:
Resigned as art supervisor to the Federal Government and appointed that same year as cultural advisor, a position he held till 1971

1969:
Awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

1971:
Appointed first professor of Fine Art in Nigeria, by the University of Ile-Ife. He retired in 1975. Awarded one of the highest honours in Senegal; Officer of the National Order of the Republic

1973:
Paints famous work, ‘Tutu’ an Ile-Ife princess

1977:
Enwonwu is appointed art consultant to the International Secretariat, Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture

1978:
Enwonwu completes work on ‘The Drummer’ for the Nigerian Telecommunications headquarters in Lagos

1980:
Enwonwu is awarded the Nigerian National Order of Merit for contributions to Art. Made a Fellow of the Asele Institute, Nimo

1985:
5-11 October; major retrospective exhibition organized by the Royal Society of British Artists at the Mall Galleries, London

1987:
Enwonwu restages the same works for a Nigerian audience at the home of the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Martin Ewans in Lagos

1990:
Last major retrospective exhibition held in Lagos at the National Museum

1994:
5 February; Enwonwu dies in his sleep at his Lagos home