The St Augustine Capel at Kingston College on North Street in Kingston was the canvas for the thanksgiving service recently for Professor Basil Barrington Watson who was described as legendary and one of Jamaican’s finest ever painters.

The many speakers who hailed the life and contribution of Professor Watson created an unforgettable portrait of someone dedicated to the arts, his family, protégés and country.

There were many words used to describe him – selfless, witty, committed, loving, thoughtful, passionate, determined, a nationalist, and a great family man. But the one that really resonated with mourners who had gathered to pay their last respects was the reference to his selflessness for which those who were privileged to share in the service gave several nods of approval.

Melvin Watson described his brother as a jack of all trades, dominating not just the arts, but in fields such as cricket and football at Kingston College (KC) where he received his secondary education.

Melvin said that his brother had not just gone down in Jamaica’s history but the history of KC as well. Watson was a member of the Kingston College team that won their first Manning Cup schoolboy football title in 1949 — 24 years after the school was founded on April 16, 1925. The team, led by retired sports administrator and former national footballer and volleyballer Freddie Green, also included several outstanding players, among them noted urologist, Professor Lawson Douglas, the goalkeeper at age 14, and former outstanding cricket coach, Roy McLean.

While Professor Watson was a footballer of note, Melvin said that it was painting that captured his brother’s heart. Young Barry was determined to pursue a career in the arts despite his father’s strong objections and the fact that KC did not have an art programme.

“Ever since he could hold a pencil he was drawing. I remember my father telling him… you will become an artist over my dead body, but this never shook the man,” Melvin recalled.

As fate would have it, and clearly outlined by a dear friend of Professor Watson’s, William “Bill” Clarke, who delivered the remembrance, Professor Watson never lost sight of his vision and instead made his first steps to acquiring greater knowledge of art and the theories associated with his acceptance at the London Royal College of Art, where he was the first black student.

He was also educated at other esteemed European art colleges such as the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam before his return to Jamaica in 1962. Professor Watson on his return became the first director of studies at the Jamaica School of Art and Craft (now part of the Edna Manley College) and in 1964 contributed to the foundation of the Contemporary Jamaican Artists Association.

But certainly, Professor Watson was more than his many educational and professional accomplishments.

Minister of Culture, Lisa Hanna, who professed her love for Professor Watson’s artistic interpretations, said he was a cultural icon and an inspiration to artists young and old.

“Barrington’s work is unquantifiable, and the focus should really be on understanding and appreciating the diverse themes that climbed off his canvases to stimulate, even provoke the inner reaches of the human mind and spirit. It is always an experience when I came face to face with a Barrington Watson work of art,” Hanna said.

“Admittedly, as a strong Jamaican woman who celebrates the power of her sisters joyfully, you can appreciate that I am a fan of Barrington’s artistic interpretation of the female form. Of even greater importance, I remain in awe of his ability to portray reverence on the canvas and respect for the inner beauty and strength of women,” Hanna continued.

Also paying homage to Professor Watson was his friend and former Prime Minister of Jamaica, P J Patterson, who lauded not only Professor Watson’s work, but the man, and the passion with which he pursued everything he did.

“Barry Watson was a man of passion for his family, his nation, his ‘Fortis’ school spirit and his professional craft. He was a man of fastidious taste, who believed that only those who had proven their innate worth were entitled to join his closely knitted circle of family and friends. Those who were so chosen knew how fortunate we were as his loyalty, courage, warmth and joie de vivre provided that special touch which we will treasure forever. Each and every day, Barry enjoyed as though there would be no tomorrow,” Patterson wrote of the KC old boy who he was proud and honoured to call his friend.

Officiating Pastor Reverend Canon Sirrano Kitson encouraged mourners to learn from and embrace the selfless persona that Professor Watson embodied.

“The passing of our brother will create a mighty void. We live in a generation where we have become self-preoccupied and self-focused and this, brothers and sisters, in captured in the selfie. Barry gave of himself selflessly and it is reflected in his gift to the people of Jamaica, his gift of self and of his art to this beloved nation,” Reverend Kitson said.

Professor Watson, the second of five sons was born in January 1931 in Lucea, Hanover. He is survived by his widow Doreen Watson, four children, Basil, Janise, Raymond, Bright and stepdaughter Shanakay Edmond.

Among Watson’s famous art pieces are Mother and Child, Spirit of Garvey, Pan-Africanist and Sketch of a Woman.