Boscoe Holder

Boscoe Holder
Born
Arthur Aldwyn Holder

(1921-07-16)16 July 1921
Died21 April 2007(2007-04-21) (aged 85)
Newtown, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Occupation(s)Painter, designer and visual artist, dancer, choreographer, musician
Spouse
Sheila Clarke
(m. 1948)
ChildrenChristian Holder
FamilyGeoffrey Holder (brother)
Ralph McDaniels (second cousin)

Boscoe Holder (16 July 1921 – 21 April 2007), born Arthur Aldwyn Holder in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, was Trinidad and Tobago's leading contemporary painter, who also had a celebrated international career spanning six decades as a designer and visual artist, dancer, choreographer and musician.

Living in London, England, during the 1950s and 1960s, Boscoe Holder has been credited with introducing limbo dancing and steel-pan playing to Britain,[1][2] performing on British television and radio, in variety and nightclubs, in films, and at well-known theatres in London's West End. His company also danced for Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953, and, two years later, at Windsor Castle.[3]

He is considered one of the top painters from the Caribbean and his works are in many collections around the world.[4] Particularly recognizable for his paintings of people of colour, reflecting his appreciation of Caribbean people and culture,[5][6] Holder often used his dancers as models, his "favourite" being his wife Sheila who was also lead dancer in his company.[4][6]

  1. ^ Peggy Schwartz and Murray Schwartz, The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus, Yale University Press, 2011, p. 117.
  2. ^ Lloyd Bradley, Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital, London: Serpent's Tail, 2013, p. 68.
  3. ^ Christian Holder, "Boscoe Holder" (obituary), The Stage, 1 June 2007.
  4. ^ a b "Boscoe Holder", 101 Art Gallery @ Holder's Studio.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bookmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Samantha Noel, "Gallery pays tribute to Boscoe Holder", The Trinidad Guardian, 11 May 2007.