HEATHCOTE David 1931-2025

Painter, sculptor, historian and lecturer born in London. He studied at Canterbury College of Art and later at the Slade, before relocating to Africa, where he worked and taught at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. He became fascinated with Hausa culture and became a recognised expert on their crafts, textiles and general way of life. His collection of Hausa artefacts was an important source in assisting him in his PhD on the subject. A large amount og Heathcote's Hausa collection is now in the British Museum and was featured in the 1976 exhibition at the Commonwealth Institute in London and again at The Art of African Textiles at the Barbican Gallery in 1995.

On his return to the UK, he exhibited his artwork at the Museum of Mankind in London in 1989 and in numerous galleries in London, Paris and Nigeria. Christchurch Mansion in Kent holds three of his sculptures, and some of his early work is part of the UCL Art Museum collection. Heathcote's first solo exhibition was held in Zimbabwe in 1961. His work has also been included in the Young Contemporaries Exhibition at the Royal Society of British Arts at the Mall Galleries in London in 1958, and in British Council Galleries in Nigeria.