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Boscoe Holder was born in Port of Spain, he says, ‘very early in the 1920’s. As a young boy he started his career as a musician, playing the piano professionally at functions for the wealthy French Creole, Portuguese and Chinese families. In his teens, he started painting seriously and also formed his own dance company.

Holder’s interpretations were carefully designed to preserve Afro-Caribbean tradition.

In his dance he used the dances of the slave - shango, bongo and bele - for his inspiration, and in his painting, the costume of the Martiniquan Creole. The experience of visits to Fort de France and New York in the 1940’s added to his already considerable repertoire and promoted strong black consciousness, which was soon reflected in his art forms.

In 1950, Holder went to live in London. As a dancer and entertainer he performed at all the well-known theaters and clubs. In Europe he appeared in Monte Carlo, Nice, and Paris and, together with Josephine Baker, in Ostend. Although dance took a primary role in those years, he continued to paint.

In the late 1960’s he returned to the country of his birth, where he quickly re-established himself as a painter, not only in Trinidad, but also throughout the Caribbean. Since then he has exhibited in most of the Caribbean islands.

Holder’s paintings can be seen in many collections throughout the world. As critic Derek Walcott says, “They have the lasting exultation that one receives from a folk lyric. Here, with affectionate insight the expressions of the West Indian face are beautifully recorded.”

Boscoe Holder died at the age of 87 on April 21, 2007.

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