Chinwe Ifeoma Chukwuogo-Roy

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(2 May 1952 − 17 December 2012) was a visual artist who was born in Awka (Oka), Anambra state, Nigeria, but spent much of her young life in

Ikom Ikom is a Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ikom in the east of the area on the Cross River and the A4 highway at. It has an area of and a population of 162,383 at the 2006 census. The pe ...

on the Cameroon border, before moving back to the family home at Umubele in Awka. She lived in Britain from 1975.

Verna Wilkins Verna Allette Wilkins FRSL (born 1943) is a Grenada-born publisher and author, now resident in London. In 1987 she founded the children's books imprint Tamarind Books, "producing quality inclusive literature that featured Black, Asian and minority ...

"Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy obituary"
'' The Guardian'' (London), Other Lives, 30 January 2013. Her paintings, prints and sculptures are predominantly figurative, in the genres of portraiture,

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and narrative subjects. She won international attention in 2002 for being the first of only two Nigerian artists (the other being

Ben Enwonwu Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE (14 July 1917 – 5 February 1994), better known as Ben Enwonwu, was a Nigerian painter and sculptor. Arguably the most influential African artist of the 20th century, his pioneering career opened th ...

) to have been allowed to paint official portraits of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. Chukwuogo-Roy was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the

2009 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

Early life and education

Chinwe Chukwuogo was born in Ondo State, Nigeria, but moved with her family to

in Cross Rivers State, where her father had extensive cocoa plantations. She had six siblings. As a teenager she was a refugee in the Biafran War after which she moved to the family home in Awka Anambra State and in 1975 she moved to Britain.Craig Robinson
"Hacheston: Tributes to acclaimed artist Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy after three year battle against cancer"
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 22 December 2012. She studied at East Ham College and subsequently obtained a B.A. Hons. Degree in

Graphic Design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

from Hornsey College of Art (now part of

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

) in 1978.

Career

Chukwuogo-Roy took up painting professionally in 1988. Her portrait of the 1990–2000 Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. She gained international fame for painting the official

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

portrait of

, commissioned by

The Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of ...

in London. The full-length portrait was unveiled at a ceremony at Marlborough House in London by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon on

Commonwealth Day Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch a ...

, 2002. It hangs alongside the portrait of Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku there. Other high-profile commissions include portraits of Kriss Akabusi and the Lord Mayor of Norwich. Chukwuogo-Roy was commissioned by Martin Keown to paint Arsenal's Highbury Stadium in London. In 2003, Chukwuogo-Roy represented the United Kingdom at the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

Committee in Paris, advising on Contemporary African Art and Artists. In December that year, she also instigated and organised the "Celebrate" Exhibition for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

. Chukwuogo-Roy exhibited throughout Britain, as well as internationally."Sculpting and painting for the Crown"
, Nigeria First, 18 December 2003. She had many solo exhibitions including those at Christchurch Mansions, Ipswich; Ipswich Museum;

The Mall Galleries The Galleries (formerly The Mall Bristol, but originally opened in 1991 as The Galleries Shopping Centre) is a shopping mall situated in the Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol city centre, England. Functioning as one of the city's retail malls ...

, Bristol;

The Royal Commonwealth Society The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting confli ...

; Reve's Cork Street Gallery, all in London;

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts The Sainsbury Centre is an art gallery and museum located on the campus of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. The building, which contains a collection of world art, was one of the first major public buildings to be designed by th ...

, University of East Anglia, both in Norwich; Aldeburgh Festival Gallery; Saatchi Gallery, both in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

; and Suffolk Colchester, Connecticut University,

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,344 at the 2010 Unite ...

; Didi Museum, Lagos; and UNESCO, Paris. There has been a permanent exhibition of her work in the Menzies & Hancock Rooms at the University of London's School of Advanced Study since May 2006. She was a founder member of the renowned Sudbourne Printmakers, involving several leading

artists. In December 2012, after a lengthy illness with cancer, she died at her home in Hacheston, near Framlingham, Suffolk.

Style and concepts

Chukwuogo-Roy created paintings, prints, and sculptures that are predominantly figurative, in the genres of portraiture,

, and narrative subjects. Her naturalistic portraiture is usually optimistic or celebratory in tone. However, she also created many works that, according to Sandra Gibson, writing for ''Nerve'', elicit "complex feelings of desperation, dread and aspiration". Notable among such works are her ''Migrants'' series and her ''African Slave Trade'' series.

Recognition and awards

Chukwuogo-Roy won many awards and was featured prominently in the international media, both for her art and also for her charitable and educational work with young people. A biography entitled ''Chinwe Roy – Artist'', published by

Tamarind Books Tamarind Books was a small independent British publisher specialising in picture books, fiction and non-fiction featuring black and Asian children and children with disabilities. It was founded by Verna Wilkins in 1987 with the mission of redressin ...

, is now studied by children in the UK as part of the National Curriculum. In 2003, Chukwuogo-Roy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East Anglia. In 2008, she was invited to address the Cambridge Union. In 2010 Chukwuogo-Roy was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (

) for her contributions to art.

Collections

Examples of Chukwuogo-Roy's work are held in many public and private art collections, including that of Queen Elizabeth II, that of former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo and Geoffrey Watling, the president of Norwich City F.C. Her work is also represented in public and private collections in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, Argentina,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, France,

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Moçambique, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain,

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Personal life

She married Roderick Roy in 1980. They had two sons, Rogan and Alasdair, and a daughter, Nwiru. They also have a grandson. Chukwuogo-Roy was an ardent

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

fan. Chukwuogo-Roy was afflicted throughout her life by

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, dro ...

, an

autoimmune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly a ...

that weakens the muscles, but still managed to travel extensively.

References

External links

Chukwuogo-Roy's website

Arts with Tajudeen Sowole, 27 December 2012.

, first broadcast on 7 October 2010, BBC News Online.
''The Guardian'' (London) obit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chukwuogo-Roy, Chinwe 1952 births 2012 deaths Black British artists Nigerian contemporary artists Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Middlesex University Nigerian women sculptors Nigerian women artists Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century women artists 21st-century women artists People from Ondo State People from Suffolk Coastal (district) 20th-century Nigerian sculptors 20th-century British painters 21st-century British painters