Painted in 1967, a few years after Nigeria’s independence, this untitled portrait reflects artist Akinola Lasekan’s commitment to portraying Nigerians with seriousness and grace rather than as ethnographic types. Recognized as a pioneer of Nigerian modernism and especially admired for portraiture, Lasekan combined formal training under British educator Kenneth Murray with close observation of everyday people, using color and light to affirm their individuality. This vertical bust-length portrait depicts a Black woman facing slightly left against a curtain-like wash of mint and teal greens. Her deep brown skin is modeled with warm highlights across her forehead, nose, and collarbones, and a small scar on one cheek. She wears a tall, carefully wrapped pink and peach head tie that twists into a knot above her head, echoing the soft folds of cloth at her shoulders. Her blouse is patterned with narrow vertical stripes of rose, coral, and pale cream, as its rounded neckline frames the strong column of her neck. Long gold earrings with rounded drops hang just below her jawline. Her dark eyes are focused, but not on us. Her lips are gently closed, giving her expression a mix of composure and quiet resolve. Soft, blended brushstrokes keep surfaces smooth while faint vertical bands in the background suggest fabric behind her, keeping all attention on her calm, dignified presence. The woman’s elaborate head wrap, striped dress, and possible facial marks signal cultural rootedness, yet her direct, weighing gaze feels unmistakably contemporary. Set against the luminous green field, she appears neither idealized nor romanticized, but present as a thinking person who holds our look. By centering a Black woman as the sole subject, with no narrative scene around her, Lasekan quietly challenges colonial hierarchies that had long marginalized Africans. The work conveys beauty, self-possession, and the importance of seeing Nigerian women as protagonists in their own visual histories.

"Untitled" by Akinola Lasekan (Nigerian) - Oil on board / 1967 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University (Lagos, Nigeria) #WomenInArt #AkinolaLasekan #Lasekan #art #artText #BlueskyArt #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #YSMA #Pan-AtlanticUniversity #NigerianArt #AfricanPortrait #NigerianArtist

In his oil painting "Hope," Nigerian artist Aina Onabolu portrays an African woman selling fruits in what might be a village market. With her head cocked and looking directly at us, she comfortably sits on a bench, under a shed alongside her covered basket which has some sample oranges she is selling displayed on the lid in stacks of four, a typical arrangement one would might see in local markets. Oranges are a well cultivated and consumed commodity nationwide. The act of selling fruits goes way back in time and is still a very common tradition among women of different ethnic groups all over Nigeria today. This scene symbolizes the hope and sustenance such trade provides. Onabolu’s mature use of color—mixing grey, rusty yellow, brown, and black—adds depth and warmth to the scene, creating a timeless snapshot of local life. Onabolu, widely regarded as the "father of modern Nigerian art," was born in Ijebu-Ode in 1882. From a young age, he demonstrated an innate talent for drawing, by copying photographs and illustrations from European magazines. At 12, he was already designing charts and visual aids for schoolteachers. Onabolu’s 1906 portrait "Mrs. Spencer Savage" is considered one of the earliest modern artworks by a Nigerian artist. He is the first Nigerian known to receive formal art education in Europe, studying at Académie Julian in Paris and later at the Royal Academy of Art in London, where he earned certificates in oil painting and fine art. His contributions to the development of art education in Nigeria were profound, and he played a key role in inviting British art educator Kenneth Murray to the country. Onabolu's influence endures, and he was posthumously inducted into the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Hall of Fame in 2018.

"Hope" by Aina Onabolu (Nigerian) - Oil on board / 1947 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (Lagos, Nigeria) #WomenInArt #hope #NigerianArt #ArtText #art #AinaOnabolu #NigerianArtist #womensart #portraitofawoman #OilPainting #FineArt #ModernArt #artwork #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #Pan-AtlanticUniversity

"African Elegance" by Nigerian artist Kolade Adekunle Oshinowo is a portrait of a young dark-skinned lady in side view with her hair styled in cornrows and her neck portrayed long and slender. The rays of light around her facial features highlight both of these elements and, in turn, gives them a profound look. Shapes and patterns can be seen portrayed on the background of the painting using a color palette of shades of brown with some red, warm blue, and yellow ochre highlights. Her outlook and expression is filled with beauty, simplicity, grace, and humility typical of a young, modern, and elegant African woman. Oshinowo is a well-respected contemporary Nigerian painter and teacher born in Ibadan in 1948. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1972, majoring in painting. He was a teacher at King’s College, Lagos. In 1973, he started lecturing part-time at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos. Eventually, he joined the institution full time in 1974 and would spend the next 35 years there in service, teaching and inspiring generations of talent to become great artists. From 1990, he was the chief lecturer and director, School of Art, Design & Printing, YABATECH. Oshinowo is very passionate about his profession as an artist and believes in the unique role of art for a better society. He would instill these ideals and values upon his students making them see their profession beyond illustrations, drawing, painting and sculpting. As a prolific painter, he loves exploring themes on urban life, events or activities in his surroundings, and everyday life in the larger society. He is also famous for portraiture and has executed numerous portraits of famous Nigerians as private commissions. As we see here, women are frequently a central theme in his paintings.

African Elegance by Kolade Oshinowo (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 2007 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (Lagos Nigeria) #womeninart #oilpainting #art #womensart #KoladeOshinowo #NigerianArtist #artwork #NigerianArt #portraitofawoman #AfricanArt #beauty #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #Pan-AtlanticUniversity

Bibeli Mimo, the Yorùbá term for the Holy Bible, is a 1950 portrait of an older Yoruba woman peacefully looking directly at us in a sitting position with the holy book in her hands. The Yoruba people live in a region in West Africa throughout parts of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Sierra Leone and speak Yorùbá. She is dressed like a typical Christian of the region and time, perhaps set for a church service. Possibly because the portrait was painted during the colonial period, Onabolu chose to explore a Christian religious theme, probably to showcase the acceptance of the "new religion" of the colonial masters by his people. The first Yoruba translation of the bible was published as Bibeli Mimo in 1900 after being translated by into Yorùbá by Samuel Ajayi Crowther in the mid-1880s. Considered by many as the "father of modern Nigerian art," Aina Onabolu loved to explore themes surrounding Yoruba myths and culture, the environment and life around him in his paintings. He was born in 1882 in Ijebu-Ode, to Jacob Onabolu, a successful Ijebu merchant, and Oshunjente Onabolu, a trader. He started his primary education at St. Saviour Primary School, Ijebu-Ode in 1892. At this period of his life, he had begun to develop a strong passion for art and practiced by imitating photographs and illustrations in European magazines and books. Onabolu had become a skilled illustrator who designed charts and visual aids for school teachers at the age of 12. One of his notable portraits titled “Mrs. Spencer Savage”, 1906, is lauded as one the earliest outstanding works of modern Nigerian art. He was the first Nigerian artist to receive formal training from Europe at Académie Julian in Paris and the Royal academy of art in London. In 2018, Aina Onabolu was inducted posthumously into the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Hall of Fame for his distinguished service to the nation and his immense contribution to the development of modern art and the teaching and practice of art in Nigeria.

Bibeli Mimo by Aina Onabolu (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 1950 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art - YSMA (Lagos, Nigeria) #womeninart #AinaOnabolu #art #portrait #womensart #oilpainting #portraitofawoman #bible #holybible #BibeliMimo #womensart #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #bibelimimo #fineart #nigerianart