Prof Yusuf Grillo Dies …Nigerian Artists Mourn Iconic Painter, Sculptor

Ololade Adeyanju/

Iconic Nigerian Artist, Prof. Yusuf Adebayo Cameron Grillo is dead.

He was 87.

Prof Grillo was the first President of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA).

He will be buried today by 4 pm at the Atan Cemetery, in Lagos.

In a statement released by his family, the pioneering modernist artist died during a brief illness that took him to the Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos.

Prof Grillo had a prolific career that shaped the discourse of modern art in the country. As a member of the Zaria Arts Society, otherwise known as the ‘Zaria Rebels’. He blended his training in the western-representational style with a focus on Nigeria’s cultural history. He is renowned for the specific use of blue in his paintings, a reference to Adire – the resist-dyed textiles used in Nigeria.

Born in December 1934 at the Brazilian Quarters in Lagos, Prof Grillo attended Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology, Zaria, where he received a Diploma in Fine Arts and a post-graduate diploma in education. In 1966, he left Zaria to study at Cambridge University and later traveled to Germany and the United States of America. He would later become the founding President of the Society of Nigerian Artists.

A master of his craft, some of his iconic works include the stained-glass drawings in churches such as Dominic Catholic Church and All Saints Anglican Church, Yaba. He engraved his marks deeply on the academic scene serving as the Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Yaba College of Technology for about 25 years. He groomed many art masters from Nigeria, and the Art Auditorium at YABATECH is named after him.

Grillo’s works are deeply influenced by the characteristics of traditional Yoruba philosophy and sculpture.

The SNA Chairman in Lagos, Kolawole Olojo-Kosoko, described Prof Grillo as a father in the arts and the grandmaster of art education in Nigeria.

He declared a 2-day mourning period for SNA members who were also asked to pay tributes.   

Art connoisseur, Peju Olowu Layiwola, stated: “When beggars die there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” The end of an era. Grillo lived an exemplary life – a life of fulfillment. Adieu, Baba.”

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