Ben Enwonwu (b. 1917-1994m Onitsha) was the first artist from the African continent to gain global visibility. He was trained in the first accredited formal art education program in the country. He received a scholarship to study at the Slade School in London, becoming its first African graduate. Ben Enwonwu quickly garnered international praise for his work. In 1949, Ebony Magazine coined him “Africa’s greatest artist”. By 1950, his work had been exhibited across four continents, in Africa, Europe, Asia and the USA.

Enwonwu’s artworks were first shown internationally at the Zwemmer Gallery in London in 1937, one of the first international exhibitions of modern African art, and at the Glasgow Empire Exhibition in 1938.

In 1956, Enwonwu was commissioned to produce a bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II. As the first African artist to be commissioned by the Queen, the unveiling became a major international sensation. A version of his iconic sculpture of Anyanwu, the Igbo sun god, was given as a gift to the United Nations from Nigeria in 1966, where it is permanently installed today.

Over the last few years, Enwonwu’s artworks have made international headlines with record-breaking sales at auction. One of his iconic paintings of Tutu achieved over a million pounds at Bonhams in 2018 after it was found in a London apartment. Soon after, his painting Christine, a portrait of an African-American woman living in Lagos in the 1970s, also achieved a record sale at Sotheby’s in October 2019.

His works have been included in exhibitions at the Tate, National Gallery of Lagos, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, PS.1 Contemporary Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum Villa Stuck, and Whitechapel Gallery.