Aina Onabolu

Aina Onabolu was born on September 13, 1882, in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. A self-taught master of portraiture from an early age, he produced sophisticated figurative paintings while working in the colonial civil service, directly challenging colonial dogmas asserting that Africans lacked the spatial intellect for realistic perspective.

Determined to shatter racist misconceptions, Onabolu sailed to Europe in 1920, studying at St. John's Wood Art School in London and the Académie Julian in Paris. Returning to Lagos as a fully certified academic master, he persuaded the British colonial administration to introduce formal art education into secondary schools, teaching at King's College and CMS Grammar School, and recruiting Kenneth Murray to Nigeria. His portraiture preserved the dignified likenesses of West Africa's early nationalist and merchant elite.