GRENADA ART by Eric M Johnn ...


	Welcome / Biography / Art Gallery / Political Art / Portraits / Contact Page

Despite its natural beauty, Grenada has experienced turbulent political upheavals in the past. Since the coming of Europeans, the Indians who lived there was forced into war to defend their island. It took the Europeans many years before they finally eliminated the Caribs and Arawaks from Grenada.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 / 41 / 42 / 43 / 44 / 45 / 46 / 47 / 48 / 49 / 50 / 51

"The Smoking Vender"
(oil on canvas..46x68) 1999.

This painting captures a scene as it happened during the US-led Invasion of Grenada in 1983. It was very common to see US marines and Grenadian locals, going about their daily duty side by side. The woman is carrying a tray of fruit and vegetables near a beach as two armed marines emerge from the shoreline.

(Available in print & original: price for original US$2,090 shipping included)

French and British colonialists fought for ownership until the British conquered and won in the end. The travails of the island did not end there. Thousands of Africans were shipped to work on tobacco, sugarcane and coffee plantations for European merchants. The island prospered, but very little of the wealth stayed in Grenada. The island went through dozens of social and political unrest since and during slavery up until 1983 when thousands of US-military troops intervened to squash a military junta that assassinated several ministers in the ruling government at the time. These days, Grenada is enjoying stability and with the tourism industry booming and nutmeg price at a comfortable rate, there's no reason why the Spice Isle of the West cannot even be spicier than ever.