Descriptions

Nancy Stanfield lived in Nigeria from her marriage in 1948 until her husband’s retirement in 1967. She studied at the Royal College of Art in 1924-28. Stanfield was a lecturer in teacher training in Western Nigeria between 1954-63 and wrote A Handbook of Art Teaching for Tropical Schools in 1958. She became interested in Nigerian crafts, particularly weaving and dyeing, writing several articles on adire cloth. She put together a collection relating to these crafts for the Horniman Museum in 1966. The material acquired by RAMM was collected at about the same time, but remained in her possession until her death in 1995. It was bequeathed by arrangement with her executors in 1998.

This watercolour is an attempt to capture the drama of masquerade in Nigeria she had observed. Dated 13 May 1951.

W. 560 x H. 381 mm

This object is on display at RAMM in the World Cultures gallery.