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AKEREDOLU, J. D.

Birth: July 15, 1915, in Owo, Ondo State. Died 1984. Training: Hammersmith School of Arts & Crafts, London, 1951-1953; awarded Nigerian government scholarship to study museum technology, Institute of Archeology, University of London, in Cardiff, Paris and Scandinavia, 1951; studied restoration of plaster casting, British Museum, London, 1958. Profile: Full name, Justus D. Akeredolu; arts and crafts teacher, Government School, Owo; commercialartist, C. M. S. Bookshops, Lagos; together with Akinola Lasekan, opened an art studio; part-time arts and crafts instructor, Methodist Schools, Lagos; did restoration, conservation and photography, Nigerian Department of Antiquities, National Museum, Lagos; under authority of Nigerian government, established the Owo Museum, Owo, 1959; generally credited with originating the genre of thorn carvings;created miniature figures from the wild cotton tree; also carved houseposts, wooden panels, ivory bracelets, hip masks, and fan handles; designed and made jewelry. Solo Exhibitions Berkeley Galleries, London, 1945. Group Exhibitions Empire Exhibition, Glasgow, Scotland, 1938. Harmon Foundation, New York, USA, 1948. "Contemporary African Painters,"…

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British Council, Ibadan, 1960. "Exhibition of Nigerian Contemporary Art," Dakar, Senegal, November 25December 7, 1980. "SilverJubilee NationalArt Exhibition," National Theatre, Lagos, September 26October 1, 1985. "The RiverShallNever Rest:Transitionsin Yoruba Art," Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA, May-June 1987; UCLA Museum of Cultural History, UCLA, LosAngeles, USA, February 7-April 3, 1988. "Nigerian Lifein Miniature: In Memory of Justus Akeredolu," Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Scotland, January 14-April1, 1989. Writings by the Artist "Ife Bronzes," Nigeria Magazine (Lagos)no. 59:341-353, 1958.illus. Public Collections Hunterian Museum, Universityof Glasgow, Scotland. Thorn carvings:"Boy Hoeing," and "Girl Grinding Meal," 1937-1938, among others. National Gallery of Modem Art, Lagos. Woodplaques: "Mother &Child" and "A Hausa Man." Bibliography "Thorn Figure Carving," [J. D. Akeredoluand G. A. Aghara]. Nigeria Magazine (Lagos) no. 14: 134-137, June 1938. illus. Nigeria Magazine (Lagos)no. 15:216, September 1938. [illus. only]. "Panels Carved in Woodby J. D. Akeredolu," Nigeria Magazine (Lagos) no. 32:8687, 1949. illus. Bascom, WilliamR. & Paul Gebauer. Handbookof West African Art. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1953. Nigeria Magazine (Lagos) no. 75: 82, December1962. [illus.only]. "Our Authors and PerformingArtists-II," Nigeria Magazine (Lagos) no. 89:133-140, June 1966. Thompson, Robert Farris. Black Gods and Kings: Yoruba Artat UCLA. Los Angeles: University of California, Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Technology, 1971. See Chapter 17/2. Bascom, William. "Changing African Art," pp. 303-319. In: Ethnicand Tourist Arts: Cultural Expressions from the Fourth World, edited by Nelson H. Graburn, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1976. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1976. Willett, Frank. "Nigerian Thorn Carvings:A LivingMonument to Justus Akeredolu," African Arts (LosAngeles)20 (1): 48-53, 98, November 1986. illus. (some color), bibliog. The River Shall Never Be At Rest: Transitions in Yoruba Art; [exhibition held at Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA, May-June, 1987]. Santa Cruz: The Gallery, [1987]. 24pp. illus. See pages 16-20. Poynor, Robin. "Naturalism and Abstraction in Owo Masks," African Arts (Los Angeles) 20 (4):56-61, 91, August 1987. bibliog., port. Willett, Frank. "Nigerian Lifein Miniature: In Memory of Justus Akeredolu," [review of an exhibition held at the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Scotland, January 14-April 1, 1989]. African Arts (LosAngeles)22 (4): 80-81, August 1989. illus.

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