Dunstan St. Omer

Dunstan St. Omer
Born Dunstan Gerbert Raphael St. Omer
(1927-10-23)23 October 1927
Castries, Saint Lucia
Died 5 May 2015(2015-05-05) (aged 87)
Union, Castries, Saint Lucia
Nationality Saint Lucian
Occupation Painter and muralist
Notable work Flag of Saint Lucia
Spouse(s) Cynthia St. Croix
Children 9

Dunstan Gerbert Raphael St. Omer KCMG (24 October 1927 – 5 May 2015) was a Saint Lucian painter, muralist and educator. He designed the national flag of Saint Lucia.[1]

Early life

Dunstan St. Omer was born in Castries on 24 October 1927. He attended St. Aloysius R.C. Boys School and Saint Mary's College.[2]

Career

St. Omer left Saint Lucia for Curaçao where he was influenced by the Greek artist Pandelis. He returned to Saint Lucia in 1949 and held various teaching jobs.[1][3]

St. Omer was the editor of The Voice newspaper from 1959–1962.[3]

St. Omer painted several murals in churches around Saint Lucia including the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. His murals feature black divinity portraying Christ and the Holy Family as black.[3][4]

In 1967, St. Omer designed the flag of Saint Lucia, winning a national contest for the best flag design marking Saint Lucia's statehood.[5]

He taught art from 1971 until his retirement in 2002. He also worked as an art specialist in the Ministry of Education.[1][5]

Honours

In 2004, St. Omer received the Papal Medal from the Catholic Church and the Saint Lucia Cross from the government of Saint Lucia for his church murals.[1][2][3][5] In 2007, the National Cultural Centre declared him a National Cultural Hero.[1][3] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2010 for service to Art.[6]

Personal life

Dunstan St. Omer was married to Cynthia St. Croix. They had nine children.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "SIR DUNSTAN ST OMER PASSES". The Voice. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 "UWI's Tribute To Sir Dunstan St. Omer". The Voice. May 18, 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Renowned artist Sir Dunstan St. Omer dies". Caricom Today. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Popovic, Caroline (Spring 1995). "Hail Mary: the Art of Dunstan St. Omer". Caribbean Beat. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Bishop, Stan (21 February 2015). "Sir Dunstan St. Omer, Designer of the National Flag, Reflects". The Voice. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "New Year honours list: Commonwealth". The Guardian. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.