Barrington Watson

Barrington Watson was born in 1931 in Lucea, Jamaica. He enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London and later also studied at Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris and the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. Upon his return to Jamaica he became the first Director of Studies at the Jamaica School of Art and co-founded the Contemporary Jamaican Artists' Association (1964-1974). He later served as visiting professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Barrington Watson explored a wide range of themes and genres in his work, including history painting, genre, portraits and self-portraits, nudes, erotica, the landscape and the still life. He received many accolades during his lifetime, including the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, in 1984, the Order of Jamaica in 2006, and the Institute of Jamaica's Gold Musgrave Medal in 2000. His work is well represented in the National Gallery of Jamaica Collection and he is featured in many other public, corporate and private collections in Jamaica and internationally.