‘She sat for him 12 times’: The Nigerian artist who made a bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II is being eyed for the UK monarchy by Prince Charles
Lagos – The Nigerian artist who created the Queen Elizabeth II statue, a bronze statue of the British monarch that will stand in Edinburgh, Scotland, is being eyed by Prince Charles, Britain’s heir to the throne.
Adegboyega Oluwalun, who will be 40 next month, said he was approached by the Prince, who has reportedly offered him the job of head of art at Buckingham Palace.
Oluwalun is a close friend of the monarch, who has visited his studio in Lagos several times, and was the first artist commissioned by her to create a sculpture in her honour.
The artist, who has sculpted about seven other busts of the monarch, said he also would like to work on a statue to the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother of the United Kingdom, the current monarch’s grandmother.
His other works include a bust of the singer Frank Sinatra and a bust of the jazz icon, Charlie Parker.
He said he was honoured to be approached by the Prince, ‘but I can say I think about him all the time’.
Lagos-born Oluwalun said he was approached after he created a sculpture in honour of Queen Elizabeth II for the Queen, who visited the Lagos studio, to create another in her memory.
His Queen Mother portrait, which has been commissioned by the Nigerian government to be installed at the Museum of African Art in Lagos, was unveiled in Lagos on Saturday.
Oluwalun said he believes Prince Charles could become a future British monarch and would be interested in his sculpture project as a form of homage to the monarch, who has made him a British citizen.
‘It does not surprise me at all because Prince Charles is always interested in the works of art of the West African and Nigerian people,’ he said.
He explained: ‘He is a very big admirer of the work of the Nigerian and West African artists. He would want to be the first person who
