The Courtauld is delighted to announce that the artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA and the renowned art dealer Julian Agnew have been awarded prestigious honours by The Courtauld in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the visual arts.
Yinka Shonibare CBE RA has been awarded the degree of Hon. D. Lit.泭honoris causa泭of the University of London by The Courtauld. The artist was initially nominated by The Courtaulds student body for the honour, which was fully endorsed by the full Courtauld community. The honorary degree is given to individuals whose distinction and achievements are outstanding and of particular importance to the fields of art and art history, The Courtaulds specialisms.
Other artists to have received the honour from The Courtauld have included Martha Rosler and Rasheed Araeen: recipients of Courtauld honorary degrees in recent years include pioneering art historian Professor Griselda Pollock and current Chair of Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota CH.
Working in painting, sculpture, photography, film and installation, Shonibares work has become well known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalization. This work, examining race, class and the construction of cultural identity is a visual political commentary on the complex interrelationship between Africa and Europe, using citations from western art from the periods of high colonialism to question the validity of contemporary cultural and national identities.
Nominated for the Turner prize in 2004, Shonibares work was included in the 52nd Venice泭Biennale in 2007. In 2010, Shonibares Nelsons Ship in a Bottle was the Fourth Plinth Commission and was displayed in Trafalgar Square before moving to be permanently displayed outside the National Maritime Museum in London.
Shonibare was elected a Royal Academician in 2013 and awarded a CBE in 2019. In March 2021, he was the 8th泭recipient of the prestigious Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon Award. A major retrospective of his work is currently on show at the Museum der Moderne in Austria and later this year, he will泭co-ordinate泭the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. His works are in notable museum collections internationally.
Julian Agnew has also been recognised, with the award of an Honorary Fellowship of The Courtauld, in recognition of his contributions to The Courtauld over many years as Treasurer, Chairman and Trustee of the Friends of The Courtauld, an organisation founded by his father Geoffrey Agnew in 1969 in support of The Courtauld and merged with it in 2020. Agnews mother Doreen was one of the first cohort of students in 1932 when the Courtauld Institute of Art was founded as part of the University of London. His own professional career has been spent within the art trade, as Director and Chairman of his family company, Thomas Agnew & Sons, founded in the early 19th Century and a notable Bond Street gallery from the late 19th to the early 21st centuries.
Professor Deborah Swallow, M瓣rit Rausing Director of The Courtauld, said: We are delighted to be able to honour two people who have had such an impact on the visual arts and on The Courtaulds own mission to advance how we see and understand them. On behalf of all of our staff and students, I would like to offer Yinka and Julian our warmest congratulations.
Yinka Shonibare said: Its a great honour to be bestowed with this Honorary Degree from an institute of such high esteem as The Courtauld. It is especially touching to know that I was nominated by the students, who are graduating this year under extremely challenging global circumstances.
Julian Agnew said: I am delighted to accept this award, not only for myself and the small contribution I have been able to make to the work of The Courtauld, but also as a tribute to my parents for the long association that both of them had with the Institute.”
L: Yinka Shonibare CBE RA. Courtesy the artist and Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographed by Marcus Leith R: Julian Agnew
