Boscoe Holder
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.
Boscoe Holder | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arthur Aldwyn Holder 16 July 1921 Arima, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Died | 21 April 2007 (aged 85) Newtown, Port of Spain |
| Occupation(s) | Painter, designer and visual artist, dancer, choreographer, musician |
| Spouse |
Sheila Clarke (m. 1948) |
| Children | Christian Holder |
| Family | Geoffrey Holder (brother) Ralph McDaniels (second cousin) |
Living in London, England, during the 1950s and 1960s, Boscoe Holder has been credited with introducing limbo dancing and steel-pan playing to Britain, performing on British television and radio, in variety and nightclubs, in films, and at well-known theatres in the West End. His company also danced for Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953, and, two years later, at Windsor Castle.
He is considered one of the top painters from the Caribbean whose work is in many collections around the world. Particularly recognizable for his paintings of people of colour, reflecting his appreciation of Caribbean people and culture, he often used his dancers as models, his "favourite" being his wife Sheila who was also lead dancer in his company.