Director-General National Gallery of Art (NGA), Mr. Ebeten William Ivara has condoled with the families of Grillo and the Society of Nigerian Artists over the death of the pioneer President Society of Nigerian Artists, Prof Yusuf Adebayo Cameron Grillo. He died on Monday at the Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos State after a ‘brief illness’ at age 87.
In a statement titled: Yusuf Grillo: Ode to a master artist, visionary, Mr. Ivara described the late Grillo as was one of the greatest artists Nigeria, nay, Africa and the world ever had, noting that he was a master artist whose paintings were his forte and sculpture his background.
The Director-General said the late Grillo was until his death a master artist, who was one of the pioneer students at the Nigeria College of Art, Science and Technology, Zaria, now, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, famously referred to as the Zaria Rebels. According to him, painting has been his forte and sculptures his playground and no wonder that his paintings and sculptures are highly sought by art connoisseurs.
“He was also a great teacher and astute administrator. For 28 years as teacher and administrator at the Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech), he made visual arts one of the most enviable courses of study. It was with the same verve that he handled the administration of the school. Unsurprisingly, the institution in his lifetime named its auditorium after him: “The Yusuf Grillo Auditorium.”
“But even more far reaching was his vision alongside his contemporaries to bring artists together in order to influence government to be favourably disposed to the arts. This was the philosophy behind the formation of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) of which he became the first President. Other officials were: Solomon Wangboje, Erhabor Emokpae (both late), Timothy Adebanjo Fasuyi, and Bruce Onobrakpeya among others. SNA became so influential that the society was invited to major UNESCO events across the world as the Nigerian chapter of International Art Society (IAS) at the time.
‘’We are glad that SNA has kept the torch burning and the vision alive. This is the greatest honour to this art icon and trail blazer. Though he sleeps, his works are alive and abound, speaking volumes of past experiences, frozen in time on this side of eternity. Indeed, his legacy lives on,” he said.
