Geoffrey Holder

Geoffrey Holder (born 1930, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; died 2014, New York, USA) was a painter, photographer, choreographer, director, costume designer, dancer, actor and composer. Following the lead of his older brother, Boscoe, Geoffrey made his debut appearance with the Boscoe Holder Dancers at the age of seven. In 1953, invited by choreographer Agnes de Mille, he relocated to New York City, where from 1955–1956 he performed as a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before embarking on a career in film, which included roles in Doctor Dolittle and the Bond movie Live and Let Die, and later television. His first solo exhibition in New York was held in 1954. By 1956 his work as a painter was recognised with a Guggenheim Fellowship. In New York, Holder found a muse in his wife-to-be, the distinguished dancer, actress, and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade. The couple married in 1955, travelling the world – including a period spent in Paris working with Josephine Baker – eventually settling in Lower Manhattan. During the 1970s Holder won two Tony Awards for his direction and costume design for the Broadway musical The Wiz and received multiple awards for his direction, costume design, and choreography.

Solo exhibitions have been held at venues including James Fuentes (2024: curated by Erica Moiah James, Los Angeles, USA; 2022: Pleasures of the Flesh, curated by Hilton Als, New York, USA); New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, USA; Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC, USA; National Arts Club, New York, USA; Far Gallery, New York, USA; Griffin Gallery, New York, USA; and Randolph Gallery, Houston, USA, among others. His work has been featured in institutional group exhibitions at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA; the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, USA; DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, USA; Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, USA; Museum of the City of New York, USA; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA; and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA, among others. Holder’s works are in permanent collections including the Barbados Museum, Bridgetown; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA; Columbia University, New York, USA; and Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.