Benedict Enwonwu MBE, NNOM
1917
July 14: Birth of Benedict Chukadibia Enwonwu. Enwonwu was born a twin into the noble family of Umueze-Aroli in Onitsha, Nigeria. His father, Odigwe 'Omenka' Emeka Enwonwu was also a technician and worked with the Royal Niger Company. A member of the Onitsha Council of Chiefs, he was a reputable traditional sculptor who produced staffs of office, stools, decorated doors and religious images. His mother, Chinyelugo Iyom Nweze was a successful cloth merchant.
1921
Upon his father's death in 1921, Enwonwu inherited his tools, going on to perfect the art of carving in the style of indigenous Igbo sculpture, begun earlier with his father, who first nurtured his precocious talent.
1926―1931
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, Ibusa and later Government College, Ibadan under Kenneth C. Murray, 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 July 6 – August 7. Among his students is Ben Enwonwu, recognised as the most gifted and technically proficient. The exhibition is a great success.
1938
May 3 ― October 29: Enwonwu's works were shown at the Empire Exhibition, Glasgow.
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―1943
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.
1944
Holds exhibition of paintings and wood carvings from December 31, 1943 to January 15, 1944.
Meets Mr H. L. Harford, director of Shell Company of West Africa. Harford is instrumental to Enwonwu's joint scholarship from Shell and the British Council to study art in the United Kingdom.
Enrolls for remedial classes at Goldsmiths College, London and later Slade School of Art, University College, London.
1945
The Slade is evacuated to Ruskin College, Oxford University.
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.
Enwonwu holds the first in a series of exhibitions at Berkeley Galleries, London which firmly establishes him internationally as a modern African artist. The exhibition was opened by Lord Listowell.
Enrols at the University College, London for postgraduate studies in anthropology.
1948
Graduates and is made a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
Elected into the Royal Society of British Artists. Made a member of Hampstead Arts and Artists International.
1949
Enwonwu holds show at the Exhibition Centre, Lagos in December.
He begins famous series, 'Africa Dances' and paintings of agbogho mmuo, the Onitsha masquerade pantheon.
1950
April: Enwonwu holds exhibition at Berkeley Galleries, London.
Holds a series of shows in New York, Boston and in Washington DC at Howard University as part of a teaching and touring exhibition.
July 13―Aug 14, Enwonwu holds major exhibition at Gallery Apollinaire in Milan.
He joins Presence African Cultural Organization and remains a member till 1966.
1954
Enwonwu is made a 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 Nigeria Federal Government to produce a sculpture that would symbolise the spirit of a new Nigerian nation for the new National Museum at Lagos. The resulting sculpture, Anyanwu is one of his most successful and visible works.
1956
Holds a series of exhibitions organised by Howard University in consultation with the Harmon Foundation.
April: Fisk University Nashville, Tennesse.
May: New York Public Library
June: Shomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
1957
In preparation for the visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll 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 Royal Society of British Artists’ (RBA) exhibition that year.
November 6: Receives the Bennett Prize awarded by the Royal Society of Arts every three years to encourage arts, manufacturing and commerce in the British Commonwealth.
1958
Awarded a Commonwealth Certificate for contributions to art by the Royal Institute of Art, Commerce and Agriculture in London.
1959
Appointed as art supervisor in the Information Service Department office in Nigeria, a position he held till 1968.
1961
Receives a major commission by any African artist in England. The commission is for seven figures in wood for the Daily Mirror
A copy of Anyanwu was presented by the Federal Government to the United Nations in 1961 in promotion of world peace.
1964
Executes famous public sculpture of Sango, the Yoruba god of lightning and thunder for the National Electricity Board headquarters (now Power Holding Company of Nigeria) in Lagos.
1966
Made a Fellow, University of Lagos from 1966―1968.
Leads the Nigerian contingent to the First World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal.
1968
Resigned as art supervisor and appointed that same year as cultural advisor to the Federal Nigerian Government, a position he held till 1971.
1969
Awarded an honourary doctorate degree by the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
1970
Enwonwu is elected Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
1971
Appointed first professor of fine art in Nigeria by the University of Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).
Became a visiting artist to the Institute of African Studies at Howard University, Washington DC.
Awarded one of the highest honours in Senegal-Officer of the National Order of the Republic.
1973
Paints famous portrait Tutu, of Adetutu Ademiluyi, an Ile-Ife princess.
April 14 ― 20, Enwonwu holds major exhibition in Lagos at the United States Information Service.
1975
Retires as professor of art at the University of Ife.
1976
Enwonwu is inducted into the prestigious Agbalanze society of Onitsha, and is formally confered with the same title―Odigwe that his father adopted several decades earlier. The ritual of this Ozo induction ceremony is a profound spiritual experience for the artist.
1977
Enwonwu is appointed art consultant in the International Secretariat, Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture.
Enwonwu is appointed art consultant in the International Secretariat
1978
Enwonwu completes work on the The Drummer for The Nigerian Telecommunications headquarters (NITEL) in Lagos.
1980
Enwonwu is awarded the Nigerian National Order of Merit for contributions to art.
Made a Fellow of the Asele Institute in Imo.
1985
October 5―11: Major retrospective exhibition organised by the Royal Society of British Artists at the Mall Galleries, London.
1987
Ike Francis, Enwonwu's elder brother dies and he becomes the ritual and titular head (okpala) of the Enwonwu patrilineage. His primary roles to perform the necessary rituals to sustain a connection between the lineage and the ancestors.
Enwonwu restages the 1985 retrospective for his 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
February 4, Enwonwu dies in his sleep at his Ikoyi, Lagos home.
