Milton George

Milton George was a self-taught Jamaican artist who started exhibiting in the 1970s. However, it was during the 1980s that he received recognition and his work became prominent in Jamaica. This was a politically turbulent decade in his country, and George recorded many events in his works, sometimes in a prophetic way, such as the decline of the then Primer Minister Michael Manley, in his metaphoric scene of a rider falling out of a horse painted in 1979. A year later Manley lost the elections. Although his work is not political in a strict sense, throughout his life, he continued using symbols such as the Jamaican flag in reference to socio-political events.

He was essentially a commentator of life in his country and the narrative behind his pieces is connected to daily life situations, which included political affairs that affected the country. He portrayed the common scenes of the Jamaican streets, the vendors, women in their regular activities, animals, and even the darker side of society such as prostitutes and the intense nocturnal life of the city. He was interested in capturing the tension in human relationships, ranging from couples to street bargaining. –Irina Leyva-Perez

Courtesy of Pan American Art Projects