Denis Williams in London: 1946–1957

Abstract

Denis Williams (1923–1998), born in British Guiana, was the first black artist to win critical acclaim in Britain, where he taught at the Central School and the Slade School of Art. He became a protégé of Wyndham Lewis and exhibited at the most prestigious galleries in London and Paris. His painting Human World (1950) formed the basis of Guyana’s National Collection. Seeking to avoid any parochial characterisation of the Negro experience he turned to abstraction. In 1953 he took part in ‘Eleven British Painters’ at the ICA and his Painting in Six Related Rhythms (1954) was one of the prize‐winners in the ‘Young Artists’ Exhibition’ the following year where it was praised by Salvador Dalí. He took part in the seminal exhibition ‘This is Tomorrow’ with John Ernest and Anthony Hill. He later became cynical about the nature of his success, feeling that he was working within a culture that was not his own.