"Barbara" by Karl Broodhagen Terracotta bust

"Barbara" by Karl Broodhagen Terracotta bust

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Karl Broodhagen (1909-2002) Barbara 1955 Terracotta bust Karl Broodhagen (1909–2002) was a Guyanese-Barbadian artist, working mostly in sculpture and paint. Originally arriving to the island to become a tailor’s apprentice, he was awarded a British Council scholarship in 1952 and migrated to London during the Windrush era to study at Goldsmith’s College in London. His experience there exposed him not only to European art, but to non-European cultures, particularly African Art. He returned to Barbados after his studies. He is known for the creation of public statues in Barbados: The Emancipation Statue (officially titled “Slave in Revolt”) on the J.T.C Ramsay roundabout, of Grantley Adams at the Prime Minister offices, and of Garfield Sobers, at Kensington Oval. In addition to these public works, Broodhagen created many portrait busts, citing an interest in the people of Barbados and a desire to decolonize Eurocentric beauty standards. This bust is an example of his fascination with the female figure, not only in physical forms but in the expressions of inner qualities of strength, reflective of so many Caribbean women. He once shared his aims with art critic Derek Bickerton, that he wished “to replace the European standards of beauty still slavishly accepted in the West Indies by standards based on the local inhabitants themselves.” As art writer and artist Chris Cozier states: “Busts like those of social worker and philanthropist John Beckles or Dame Nita Barrow….were clearly about the power of the individual voice and the individual presence in the social space.” His works have toured internationally and are included in UNESCO’s collections, and he was awarded the Gold Crown Merit in 1982 Broodhagen was also a passionate arts educator. In 1947 he established the art department at Combemere School, and on his return from the UK worked as a teacher there until 1996. Source: Art in Barbados: What Kind of Mirror Image? Authors: Alissandra Cummins, Allison Thompson, Nick Whittle. Published 1999.

Karl Broodhagen

1955

English

Physical Object

5888

8.5cm x cm x cm

current,13.083374,-59.602236;

Barbados Museum and Historical Society

TEXT

Karl Broodhagen (1909-2002) Barbara 1955 Terracotta bust Karl Broodhagen (1909–2002) was a Guyanese-Barbadian artist, working mostly in sculpture and paint. Originally arriving to the island to become a tailor’s apprentice, he was awarded a British Council scholarship in 1952 and migrated to London during the Windrush era to study at Goldsmith’s College in London. His experience there exposed him not only to European art, but to non-European cultures, particularly African Art. He returned to Barbados after his studies. He is known for the creation of public statues in Barbados: The Emancipation Statue (officially titled “Slave in Revolt”) on the J.T.C Ramsay roundabout, of Grantley Adams at the Prime Minister offices, and of Garfield Sobers, at Kensington Oval. In addition to these public works, Broodhagen created many portrait busts, citing an interest in the people of Barbados and a desire to decolonize Eurocentric beauty standards. This bust is an example of his fascination with the female figure, not only in physical forms but in the expressions of inner qualities of strength, reflective of so many Caribbean women. He once shared his aims with art critic Derek Bickerton, that he wished “to replace the European standards of beauty still slavishly accepted in the West Indies by standards based on the local inhabitants themselves.” As art writer and artist Chris Cozier states: “Busts like those of social worker and philanthropist John Beckles or Dame Nita Barrow….were clearly about the power of the individual voice and the individual presence in the social space.” His works have toured internationally and are included in UNESCO’s collections, and he was awarded the Gold Crown Merit in 1982 Broodhagen was also a passionate arts educator. In 1947 he established the art department at Combemere School, and on his return from the UK worked as a teacher there until 1996. Source: Art in Barbados: What Kind of Mirror Image? Authors: Alissandra Cummins, Allison Thompson, Nick Whittle. Published 1999.

14