Abstract
Employing historiography, this article traces the roles of the art historian, Ola Oloidi, in the origin and development of modern Nigerian art history. The study of art history in Nigeria before Oloidi’s intervention was akin to anthropology. In the mid-1980s, he presumably changed this trend. He originated what is today known as the history of modern Nigerian art and initiated strategies to reposition art historical studies in their correct perspective. He defended the cause of modern Nigerian art and art history through incisive and insightful texts buttressed with objective, constructive, and critical arguments. Thus, he left indelible footprints in the field of art historical studies in Nigeria. Ola Oloidi’s innovative and ground-breaking ideas about art and its reportage in Nigeria provide an inestimable fount of knowledge that other Nigerian art historians have drawn from to further advance historical discourses that deepen understanding of modern Nigerian art. He bequeathed the Art Historical Association of Nigeria (AHAN) to art historians to fight against anthropological dominance and the scientification of the art historical space.
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