Benjamin Nicholas (1930 - 2012)

Benjamin Nicholas was one of Belize's leading artists and the one-man chronicler of the history and culture of the Garifuna Indians. The Garifuna are an Afro-Caribbean people descended from African slaves who were shipwrecked on the island of St. Vincent and inter-married with the indigenous Carib Indians. Defeated by the British in 1797, they were deported to the islands and coast of Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize.

The son of a banana farmer, Benjamin Nicholas was born in 1930 in the southern coastal village of Barranco. He began to draw while attending primary school, and as a young man studied both commercial and fine art in Guatemala. Returning to Belize, he gained the notice of an American collector who sponsored his study of art at the University of Minnesota for three years. Nicholas' paintings depict both the history and the daily life and culture of the Garifuna people around him - from fishing and farming to healing ceremonies and mourning rites. Nicholas' reputation has steadily grown in Belize and abroad.  The renowned Belizean artist has been recognized internationally and was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.  He received many awards and mural commissions in public buildings.

We were informed by Mr. Nicholas' son Isiah that he passed away on April 9,  2012.
An obituary for Benjamim Nicholas can be found at:  http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/69013