Renowned Saint Lucian artist Llewellyn Xavier was knighted during an Investiture Ceremony at Windsor Castle in England on Wednesday. He received the prestigious title of Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the arts and national development in Saint Lucia.
Globally celebrated as one of the foremost visual artists of his generation, Sir Llewellyn is also lauded for his environmental advocacy through his work. Last year, the Cultural Development Foundation honoured him as an icon in their annual Cultural Icon Series Showcase. To mark the occasion, he presented Poems from Saint Lucia, a critically acclaimed exhibition featuring three of his collections.
Born in Saint Lucia, Sir Llewellyn initially migrated to Barbados, where he worked as an agricultural apprentice before discovering his passion for art after receiving a set of watercolours from a friend.
His artistic journey later took him to England, where he became a pioneer in mail art, and then to the United States, where he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. After a sabbatical as a Cistercian monk in Montreal, Canada, he returned to Saint Lucia in 1987 to further his artistic mission.
His work has been exhibited worldwide, with one of his most celebrated pieces being Global Council for Restoration of the Earth’s Environment (1993), a monumental cycle of collages. His art is held in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the American Museum of Natural History.
