Ben Osawe (1931-2007) was first trained in art by his father, who was a sculptor for the ruler, Oba Eweka II of Benin. From 1956-59 he studied at the Camberwell School of Arts, London and returned to Nigeria to teach at the University of Nsukka.

Osawe’s work was included in the highly acclaimed exhibition The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994, curated by Okwui Ewenzor and shown at MoMA PS1, New York; Museum Villa Stuck, Munich; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and House of World Cultures, Berlin. His work is also in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Nigeria.

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