b. 23 October 1928, Ile-Ife, Nigeria | d. 2021 Lived and worked in Lagos, Nigeria Abayomi Adebayo Barber was a pioneering Nigerian artist, sculptor, teacher, and founder of the influential Abayomi Barber School of Art. He began his formal journey in art through local schooling in Ile-Ife and went on to gain widespread recognition in 1952 after winning the Lines Silver Cup at the All Nigeria Festival of the Arts. Early in his career, he worked as a graphic artist in Lagos, producing illustrations, comics, and book designs, but his passion for fine art led him to study sculpture at Yaba College of Technology and later in London at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. In London, he also trained in casting and molding, worked alongside renowned sculptors like Oscar Nemon, and served as an assistant at the British Museum. Returning to Nigeria in 1971, Barber became an arts fellow at the University of Lagos, where he taught and mentored generations of Nigerian artists. He firmly believed that creativity should be grounded in technical skill, sincerity, and respect for material, rejecting prevailing notions of primitivism in African art. His distinguished practice combined naturalism with surrealism and produced realistic busts, notably of figures like Murtala Mohammed and Oba Adesoji Aderemi, as well as sensitive figurative paintings. His influence extended far through his mentorship and institution of the Barber School of Art, which championed artistic freedom beyond Western preconceptions. Barber held his first solo retrospective exhibition in 1989, and his work features prominently in the National Gallery of Modern Art. He passed away on 26 December 2021, leaving a monumental legacy as one of Nigeria’s most respected modern artists.