Barrington Watson

This article is about the Jamaican painter. For the Great British long-distance runner, see Barry Watson (athlete).

Barrington Watson is Jamaica’s master painter. Born in 1931 in Lucea, Jamaica, Barrington Watson made his original mark in Jamaica as a football player for Kingston College. However, he ultimately followed his artistic yearnings by enrolling at the Royal College of Art in London. He traveled widely and then returned to Jamaica in the early 1960s. In 1967 he won a prize at the first Spanish Biennal at Barcelona. Barrington Watson has exhibited throughout Jamaica and internationally and currently lives in Jamaica. He is the father of sculptor Basil Watson.

"I utilize The Light of Turner The Line of Ingres The Range of Rembrandt The Techniques of Velasquez The Emotion of Goya And, my Birthright of Benin."

Awards

• 1957 - British Council Scholarship

• 1958-9 - Jamaican Government Scholarship

• 1960 - German Government Scholarship

• 1960 - Dutch Government Scholarship

• 1961 - Jamaican Government Travel Scholarship

• 1967 - Special Award, Spanish Bienalle - First Barcelona International Exhibition

• 1971 - Fulbright Professorship, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA.

• 1974 - Gold Medal, Jamaica Festival

• 1980 - Centenary Medal, Institute of Jamaica

• 1984 - Commander of the Order of Distinction, C.D.

• 1984 - Prime Minister of Jamaica's Award for Excellence

• 1999 - Barrington Watson Day in Atlanta, GA (11 February)

• 2000 - Gold Musgrave Award

• 2001 - Citation, University of Technology, Jamaica

Notable Works

• Spirit of Garvey, (Oil/Canvas)
• Pan-Africanists, Oil/Canvas, 1999

Portraits

• Marcus Garvey, Jamaica
• Fredrick Douglass, JAMAICA
• C.L.R. James, Trinidad
• Harriet Tubman, USA
• Kwame Nkrumah, Gold Coast
• W. E. B. Du Bois, USA
• Julius Nyerere, Tanganyika
• Jomo Kenyatta, British East Africa
• George Padmore, Trinidad
• Haile Selassie I, Ethiopia
• Paul Robeson, USA,
• Malcolm X, USA
• Rosa Parks, USA
• Martin Luther King, Jr., USA
• Muhammad Ali, USA
• Patrice Lumumba, Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville)

Literary works

• Shades of Grey
• The Pan-Africanists
• Barrington

Reference

Barrington Watson - The Artist