
Helene Love-Allotey
Head of Department
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Akinola Lasekan is widely acknowledged as one of the first artists in Nigeria to pioneer a modern, realist aesthetic. Denied access to formal art education, he taught himself to paint through correspondence courses. The experience was so rewarding, he later established his own correspondence art school which spawned talents such as Uche Okeke. Lasekan's tireless efforts to make art education more accessible were recognised in 1966 when he was appointed Associate Fellow of the Institute for African Studies at the University of Ife. He would hold this position until his death in 1972.
Lasekan first captured the public's attention with his acerbic cartoons for the newspaper, The West African Pilot. His drawings lampooned British colonial establishments and attitudes, earning him the nickname 'Lash'.
'As a painter, Lasekan distinguished himself as early as 1938 when the Weekly Record newspaper recognised him "as one of the portrait painters following the footsteps of Aina Onabolu, the pioneer."'
Bibliography
Prof. Ola Oloidi, 'Lasekan: The Unrivaled Pioneer', Position International Art Review, vol.5, no. 4.