News

The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, along with lead project partners Susan Olde, OBE, and the Ministry of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing, are proud to present the Bendel Hydes Retrospective catalogue to district and school libraries across the Cayman Islands.  

The 200-page, full-colour publication was developed as part of the large-scale, career retrospective exhibition which closed on 30 January after attracting over 6,000 visitors. The exhibition and catalogue represent the most comprehensive survey of Hydes’ career to date, tracing his artistic legacy through early figurative drawing to the remarkable ‘luminescent’ abstractions of the last decade. 

Known affectionately as the ‘founding father’ of the Cayman Islands contemporary art scene, Hydes was the first Caymanian to attend formal art school, the first to represent the Cayman Islands at significant art events such as the Sao Paolo Biennial and multiple Caribbean groups exhibitions, and the first to receive critical acclaim internationally. “The importance of Hydes’ contribution to the formal development of visual art in the Cayman Islands cannot be understated. Through the exhibition and now via the catalogue we aim to honour that contribution and celebrate all that Bendel has achieved,” says exhibition Chief Curator Natalie Urquhart.

Drawing on multiple primary interviews with Hydes’ family members, friends and prominent collectors of his work, along with extensive archival research, the publication explores Hydes’ legacy through a detailed biography, essays, a career timeline and over 200 artworks. It traces the stylistic evolution of his practice from early representational watercolours and traditional maritime scenes, through his quasi-surrealist, semi-abstract and expressive paintings of the mid-1980s and early 1990s, and finally to the large-scale, all-over abstractions which the artist is synonymous with today. 

Due to the generous support of the Ministry of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing, and NGCI Chairperson and exhibition sponsor Susan Olde, OBE, copies of the catalogue are now being donated to schools across the island as well as district and service club libraries.

Speaking on the importance of the book, Mrs. Olde, OBE, said, “This career survey of Hydes’ artistic practice offers a thoughtful celebration of his remarkable legacy - bringing to life, in a definitive fashion, the singular vision of Cayman’s pre-eminent visual artist. It is perhaps impossible to overstate the significance of Bendel Hydes within the history of Caymanian art, and we are thrilled to present this catalogue to schools across the island in the hope it will inspire the next generation of artists.” 

For those who missed the chance to visit the gallery in person, a virtual tour of the exhibition is now permanently available for viewing on the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands website, along with accompanying teaching resources. In addition, a smaller exhibition of Bendel Hydes’ artwork is on view at the National Gallery’s Dart Auditorium Gallery until mid-April. Each of the works on display are the focus of a large fundraising campaign that is designed to secure funds to acquire the artworks for the National Collection.

The catalogue is available for general purchase at the National Gallery Gift Shop. For further information about the Bendel Hydes Fundraising Campaign or the catalogue please email collections@nationalgallery.org.ky or call (345) 945 8111.