The National Museum of African Art is deeply saddened by the news that internationally recognized Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow passed away December 1, 2016.
Photograph by Jessica Suworoff, 2012
His dramatic figurative sculptures have been included in major contemporary art exhibitions and he received numerous prestigious commissions, prizes, and honors over his long career as an artist. On December 11, 2013, Ousmane Sow was admitted to France’s Academy of Fine Arts (Académie des Beaux-Arts) during a ceremony held in Paris at the Élysée Palace, France’s presidential residence. He is the first African to enter the academy. The museum is honored to hold one of his truly monumental sculptures in our collection.
On behalf of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, I extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends throughout the world.
—Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Director
Learn more about Ousmane Sow’s work in our collection here and here, more about his historic admittance to the Academy of Fine Arts here, and visit his website here.
Photograph by Jessica Suworoff, 2012
Ousmane Sow’s sculpture Toussaint Louverture et la vieille esclave (not currently on view)
photograph by Franko Khoury, 2010
