Boscoe Holder (1921- 2007, Trinidad) began painting, self-taught, at the age of five, and by his seventh birthday he was already playing the piano. Enamoured of his island’s culture, he researched and learned the local dances and songs of Trinidad, and by the late nineteen-thirties he had formed a group of dancers and was producing shows depicting the music, songs and dances of Trinidad. At the same time he gave several solo art exhibits, and became a founder and life member of the Trinidad Art Society.

Holder married Sheila Clarke in 1948 and the couple had a son, Christian, the following year. In 1950 they travelled to London, which became their home for the next twenty years. Holder formed his group, Boscoe Holder and his Caribbean Dancers, in London, and had his own television show in 1950, Bal Creole aired on B.B.C.

Returning to Trinidad in 1970 Boscoe Holder concentrated mainly on his paintings, although he still appeared in cabaret with his wife. In recognition of his contribution to the Arts, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago awarded Holder the Humming Bird Medal (gold) and named a street after him in 1973.

Courtesy Rosenstiels