Dunstan Gerbert Raphael St. Omer KCMG (24 October 1927 – 5 May 2015) was a
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
n painter, muralist and educator. He designed the
national flag of Saint Lucia.
Early life
Dunstan St. Omer was born in Castries on 24 October 1927. He attended St. Aloysius R.C. Boys School and
Saint Mary's College.
Career
St. Omer left Saint Lucia for
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
where he was influenced by the Greek artist Pandelis. He returned to Saint Lucia in 1949 and held various teaching jobs.
St. Omer was the editor of ''The Voice'' newspaper from 1959–1962.
St. Omer painted several murals in churches around Saint Lucia including the
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. His murals feature black divinity portraying Christ and the Holy Family as black.
In 1967, St. Omer designed the flag of Saint Lucia, winning a national contest for the best flag design marking Saint Lucia's statehood.
He taught art from 1971 until his retirement in 2002. He also worked as an art specialist in the Ministry of Education.
Honours
In 2004, St. Omer received the Papal Medal from the Catholic Church and the
Saint Lucia Cross
The Order of Saint Lucia is an order of chivalry established in 1986 by Elizabeth II. The Order comprises seven classes. In decreasing order of seniority, these are:
* ''Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lucia'' (GCSL)
* ''Knight/Dame Commander ...
from the government of Saint Lucia for his church murals.
In 2007, the National Cultural Centre declared him a National Cultural Hero.
He was appointed Knight Commander of the
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III.
...
in 2010 for service to Art.
Personal life
Dunstan St. Omer was married to Cynthia St. Croix. They had nine children.
References
External links
Dunstan St. Omer at the Folk Research Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Omer, Dunstan
1927 births
Flag designers
2015 deaths
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Muralists
People from Castries Quarter
Saint Lucian artists
Saint Lucian educators