ST JOHN’S–Just ten days shy of his 100th birthday, St. Maarten’s cultural icon and master of portraits Cynric Griffith passed away Saturday at the age of 99.
Born in St. Kitts on January 1, 1919, Griffith was educated at Art Student League and National Academy of Fine Arts in New York. His career began with his first entry in the 1955 competition by Alcoa Steamship Company.
In St. Maarten, his home for the majority of his prolific life, Griffith received the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Culture Prize in 2013 in recognition of his contribution to culture through his paintings and drawings, work that has earned him an international reputation.
At the 2013 prize presentation Governor Eugene Holiday said Griffith’s special gifts of art “truly are a testimony to your exceptional artistry, rightfully qualifying you to carry the title Master Portrait Artist.”
Griffith participated in group exhibitions in Antigua, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, Cuba, the Netherlands and various cities in mainland United States.
His works were included in a major exhibition “Between the Lines”, which started in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and travelled throughout the Caribbean and Europe.
It is said about Griffith that his canvases speak “the language of the spirit.” Considered to be the “elder statesman” of St. Maarten/St. Martin artists, Griffith created works that are compelling in that his portraits seem to reflect the profound and unseen traits of a person’s inner life. One of his iconic paintings “Mother in Trouble” shows his love for people and for a way of life that is no longer.
It is said that there has been no other contemporary artist on the island who can capture the soul of a person on canvas like Griffith. In this, he was a true follower of Rembrandt, the painter from the Dutch Golden Age, whom he so admired.
His landscapes and paintings of old houses, his panoramic view of Philipsburg or the trees at Friars Bay are all testimonies to the highest quality of fine art.
Griffith spent his final years in St. Martin’s Home for senior residents in St. John’s. Mobile only with use of a walker and slow measured steps, the deftness still in his fingers was very evident on the pastel canvases adorning his room.
In May, Griffith had an unexpected visitor – Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. After his meeting with Griffith, Rutte described the artist as “a St. Maarten monument.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83919-st-maarten-s-cultural-icon-cynric-griffith-passes-away
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