H11-1771. Fakeye, Lamidi O. (1928-2009). Papers, 1995-2009. 0.50 linear ft.

Lamidi Olonade Fakeye was born in Nigeria in 1928. He was born into a family of wood-carvers and was a fifth-generation carver. His father and older brother taught him to carve. He left home for his education and at the age of twenty met Father Kevin Carroll, who hired him as a carver. Later he was apprenticed to a famous woodcarver, George Arowoogun. Fakeye became a teacher and independent artist, having several apprentices of his own. In 1960, his work became known in America. In 1973, he carved two 12-foot doors for the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. An exhibition of sixty of Fakeye’s carvings was shown at Western Michigan University in 1987. Hope College had an exhibition of his work in 1996 and also published his autobiography in conjunction with this show. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, photographs, and final manuscript of Fakeye's book, "A Retrospective Exhibition and Autobiography," published in 1996.