N E W S   Last updated: Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 12:01pm EST

Albert Huie, O.D., C.D., Outstanding Artist Laid to Rest

Washington DC: Friday, February 08, 2010

Alecia Huie, delivers the eulogy at the home-going celebration service of her father Jamaica’s foremost artist, Albert Huie, O.D., C.D. at the funeral and home-going celebration service at the Vaughn C. Greene funeral chapel in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday, February 8, 2010

Despite the record breaking snow storm which hit the mid-Atlantic region over the weekend, a wide cross-section of the Jamaican community from Washington DC, Baltimore and Virginia as well as members of the art community turned out to bid farewell to one of Jamaica’s foremost artist, Albert Huie, O.D., C.D.

In remembering her father, Alecia Huie highlighted the accomplishments her father achieved in the field of art and the outstanding contribution he made in transforming the landscape of art.  As a result of Mr. Huie’s work, this paved the way for other artists who came after him. As a father, he was a great provider and role model to his children.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Anthony Johnson who represented the government at the funeral and home-going celebration service, headed the list of mourners in attendance at the Vaughn C. Greene funeral chapel in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday, February 8, 2010.

In paying tribute, Ambassador Johnson described Mr. Huie as a giant of the Jamaican cultural pantheon – a man whose works have presented Jamaicans across the globe, and whose name is known wherever serious connoisseurs of cultural expression are found.  Mr. Huie is a man whose name will not be forgotten as long as mankind appreciates the beautiful, the graceful and fecundity of God’s nature.

Ambassador Johnson pointed out that Mr. Huie was able to look beyond the obvious, could see through mere flesh and stone, and, in his mind’s eye, create the essential essence of God’s creation.  “He saw beauty while others saw dirt, He saw strength where others could only see hardship.  He saw vitality where others could only discern brute force”, he said.

Turning to his works of art, Ambassador Johnson said that many of his pieces illustrated the feeling of rebellion of the working class which boiled over with his generation. 

“Jamaica and the Caribbean are fortunate to have nurtured a man of such rare genius, whose works now hang in hundreds of museums and private collections across the globe.  These works eloquently express the message of the Jamaican nation – an impatience with the legacy of poverty and under-development, a striving for a better tomorrow, but surrendering nothing of our natural beauty, our tropical rhythm and our Caribbean spontaneity – the essence of our native Jamaican spirit”,  said Ambassador Johnson.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Anthony Johnson offers words of comfort to Mrs. Phyllis Huie widow of  Jamaica’s foremost artist, Albert Huie, O.D., C.D. at the funeral and home-going celebration service at the Vaughn C. Greene funeral chapel in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday, February 8, 2010.

The Ambassador expressed condolence to Mr. Huie’s widow, his children and other members of the family on behalf of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, the cabinet and the government and people of Jamaica.  He assured the family that although Mr. Huie will be missed his works will remain forever with us to inspire us.

In her tribute, read by Ambassador Johnson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the honourable Olivia Grange, said Jamaica and indeed the world has lost a great artist who not only painted beautiful pieces, but used the strokes of his brush to help transform a nation’s image of itself.

Minister Grange said Albert Huie’s artistic vision was indeed revolutionary and resulted in magnificent images, in paint and in print form, that continue to inspire us as icons of Jamaican-ness.  “It was Huie who taught us how to look at and represent ourselves with pride and sensitivity. His portraits of Jamaicans of all ages and social backgrounds; his majestic, sun-infused landscapes; and his depictions of the reaping of crops, market vending and washing by the river all celebrated the beauty and poetry of our land and its people”, she said. 

She described  Mr. Huie as the Father of Jamaican Painting who contributed immensely to the development of Jamaican art with key figures such as John Dunkley, David Pottinger, Edna Manley, Carl Abrahams and Alvin Marriott.

Minister Grange noted that we marvel at the fact that some of his most poignant portraits, such as the beautiful young girl in The Counting Lesson (c1938) or the proud market woman in The Vendor (1939), were painted when he still in his teens.  Both works are now among the classics of modern Jamaican painting and are on permanent display at the National Gallery of Jamaica, along with later Albert Huie masterpieces, such as Noon (1943), Crop Time (1955) and Coconut Piece (1966).

Like his talent, Huie’s significance to Jamaican art was recognised early in his career.  His classic, The Counting Lesson, was featured in the Jamaican exhibition at the New York World Fair in 1939; and he was the first Jamaican artist to receive a solo exhibition at the Institute of Jamaica in 1943, she added.
Minister Grange noted that many more generations of Jamaican artists will be inspired by Albert Huie, that precocious talent.  So while we are saddened at his passing, we cherish his memory.  We will forever remember his work and the inspiration it brings.

In remembering her father, Alecia Huie highlighted the accomplishments her father achieved in the field of art and the outstanding contribution he made in transforming the landscape of art.  As a result of Mr. Huie’s work, this paved the way for other artists who came after him. As a father, he was a great provider and role model to his children.

Following the home-going service, the late Albert Huie was entombed at the
Arbutus Memorial Park Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Born in Falmouth, Trelawny on December 31, 1920, Mr. Huie died on January 31, 2010, exactly one month after he celebrated his 89th birthday. 

He is survived by his wife Phyllis, daughters Evelyn, Christine and Alicia.