Explore our curated selection of artists from the African Diaspora, including Laura James and Archibald J. Motley, Jr. Our Archive boasts artwork by globally renowned artists, championing diversity and cultural heritage. Learn more about artwork and photography available through Bridgeman Images' artist and partners. 
 

Laura James
 

Born in 1971 in Brooklyn, New York, Laura James is a self-taught painter of Antiguan heritage. James paints religious subjects and Biblical stories using iconography found in Ethiopian Christian art. Her work is widely collected and has been exhibited globally. In 2000, Laura James received a major commission from Liturgy Training Publications to create 35 images for a new text of the Book of the Gospels. Her images have been published in several publications, including the Oxford Illustrated History of the Bible.  She is very active in her community and has produced artwork for numerous cultural events, art exhibitions and film festivals.


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Artwork by Laura James
The Good Shepherd (acrylic), Laura James/ Private Collection / © Laura James. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images


Aaron Bevan Bailey
 

Multidisciplinary artist Aaron Bevan-Bailey was born in 1984 in Peckham, South London, of Jamaican and Scottish heritage. His paintings reflect having to negotiate ever-changing boundaries of race, environment, identity and anonymity. The work seeks to explore the fractured connection we experience in modern society. It is the inner sanctuary which Aaron is striving to capture within his portraits.

With a background in painting, illustration and concept art, Aaron brings a distinctively graphic style and confident vision to all of his work. He has worked with several well-known companies, such as Revlon, Vogue, Kit Kat, Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mercedes, Now TV, Discover Dominica and Network Rail, Disney and many more.


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Artwork by Aaron Bevan Bailey
Aduwa (oil on canvas board), Aaron Bevan-Bailey/ Private Collection / © Aaron Bevan-Bailey. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images

 

Osinachi
 

Osinachi, born Prince Jacon Osinachi Igwe, is a self-taught digital artist whose work explores personal experiences within a technological environment. Osinachi, who grew up in Aba, Nigeria, produces drawings using Microsoft Word, where he utilizes the basic limited design palette of the word processing software to create narrative illustrations.

Africa’s foremost cryptoartist, Osinachi‘s works are further registered in the blockchain and sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). His cryptoart is well sought after on platforms such as SuperRare, Rarible, OpeanSea, R.A.R.E., Portion, and Makersplace. In 2018, he became the first-ever Nigerian artist to showcase artworks at the Ethereal Summit, a conference in New York that seeks to bridge the gap between technology and art through blockchain.
 

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Artwork by Osinachi
LET'S DANCE , 2022 (digital), Osinachi / Private Collection / © Osinachi. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images


Emmanuel Amponsah
 

Emmanuel Amponsah is a self-taught and passion-driven Ghanaian-based artist with unique interests in photography and art direction. A principal theme in his art is that of a distinct blend of realism, social issues addressing minimalism and the exhibition of black symbolism. Inspired by black heritage and social issues, Amponsah hopes to create awareness and tell hidden stories.
 

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Photograph by Emmanuel Amponsah
Aboboyaa in West Africa, 2019 (photo), Emmanuel Amponsah/ Private Collection / © Emmanuel Amponsah. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images

 

Ken Nwadiogbu
 

Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1994, Ken Nwadiogbu became a trained civil engineer at the University of Lagos, though he soon developed an interest in fine art. Nwadiogbu creates innovative conceptual drawings on various surfaces, as he challenges and investigates Black socio-political structures and issues, while engaging in multidisciplinary modes of storytelling. Popularly known as KenArt, Nwadiogbu is credited for beginning the ‘Contemporealism’ movement, a fusion that is primarily centered around Hyper-Realism and Contemporary art. He recently held his debut solo show Contemporealism (2019), in Brick Lane Gallery, London. He has also participated in local and international group exhibitions and fairs around the world. 
 

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Artwork by Ken Nwadiogbu
The Visitor II, 2021 (charcoal and acrylic on canvas), Ken Nwadiogbu/ Private Collection / © Ken Nwadiogbu. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images

 

Ikahl Beckford

The artist, Ikahl (St. MEB), was born in Jamaica, and currently resides in New York City. Beckford talks us through his work below:

"Early years as a visual artist were nurtured in my homeland and early training continued in the United States. My artist spirit is not limited to the visual arts, as I am also known for skills developed in adolescence as a poet and bass guitarist.

Versatility in style, I enjoy creating images that appeal to people in diverse groups. Works are executed on various media including oil, acrylic, pastel, prisma-color, pen and ink and pencil.  Equally adept at creating reminiscences of African lifestyles, as with evoking memories of cultural nuances of my beloved Caribbean homeland. Musical images reflect the love of music."
 

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Artwork by Ikahl Beckford
Conference Table (oil on canvas), Beckford, Ikahl / Private Collection / © Ikahl Beckford. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images

 

Emma Prempeh
 

Emma Prempeh, born in 1996, is a British artist with Ghanaian and Vincentian heritage based in London. Prempeh studied at Goldsmiths University of London graduating in 2019 winning the Alumno/Space bursary award for 2020. She won 1st place for the Ingram Collection Purchase Prize and became a participating artist in Bloomberg New contemporaries 2019. Additionally she recently attended the MA Painting course at the Royal College of Art under the LeverHulme Trust Arts Scholarship winning the Valerie Beston Trust Arts award for 2022.

Prempeh analyzes existential questions that are projected upon her reality; the fear of death, memory and ancestral ties. Her paintings project warm, darkened earthly tones marking time through the recurrence of calendars, clocks and bodies. Partially defined figures and objects drift freely through space, highlighted by schlag metal—a brass alloy of copper and zinc that imitates gold leaf—symbolizing the transition between life and death. Over time, the material deteriorates, suggestive of the ineluctable passing of time.
 

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Artwork by Emma Prempeh
Go Liming, 2022 (oil, acrylic, imitation gold leaf, iron powder and print on canvas), Emma Prempeh/ Private Collection / © Emma Prempeh. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images


Carlton Murrell
 

Carlton Murrell began exploring his artistic talents by drawing and painting the various lifestyles of his native Barbados. Upon relocating to the US, Murrell pursued a more formal education with the Art Student League of New York from 1968-70, choosing Claude Monet as his major influence.  Drawing on the influence of Monet and other European Impressionist painters, Murrell's layering of paints in short strokes and use of color emerges with a unique painterly style. He combines his rich Caribbean heritage with traditional island and urban living to create a thought-provoking visual message. He has been awarded more than 15 awards, prizes and citations. Among them is the prestigious "Proclamation for Outstanding Contribution to Caribbean American Art" from the American Biographical Institute.
 

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Artwork by Carlton Murrell
Fun in the Park, 2004 (oil on canvas), Carlton Murrell/ Private Collection / © Carlton Murrell. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images


Archibald J. Motley, Jr.
 

Archibald J. Motley, Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1891 to upper-middle-class African American parents; his father was a porter for the Pullman railway cars and his mother was a teacher. Motley enrolled in the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he learned academic art techniques. Motley captured the complexities of black, urban America in his colorful street scenes and portraits. Painting during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, Motley infused his genre scenes with the rhythms of jazz and the boisterousness of city life, and his portraits sensitively reveal his sitters’ inner lives. 
 

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artwork by Archibald J. Motley, Jr.
Portrait of a Cultured Lady, 1948 (oil on canvas),  Archibald J. Motley Jr. (1891-1981) / Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, New York, USA / © Chicago History Museum / © Estate of Archibald John Motley Jr. All reserved rights 2025 / Bridgeman Images


Shem
 

Shem is a self-taught British painter known for his abstract, contemporary, and expressionist style. His artistic journey began in childhood, creating comic books with his brother Sahla, shaped by an unconventional upbringing in London, including impactful Rastafarian schooling in Tottenham.

He debuted with a self-staged solo show, ‘A Discounted World At Full Price’ (But Dreams Are Free), in London (2019). Shem's "chaotic expressionist" style evolved through notable exhibitions, including ‘We Are In The Future’ (2020, Old Street), ‘When The Sun Falls Out The Sky’ (2020, Hoxton Gallery), and ‘Fine Art’ (2022, South Kensington). His first Asia solo show, ‘The Loser Wins’ (2023, Space Fountain Gallery, Seoul), solidified his global presence, followed by appearances at Seoul's Mess Art Fair and other exhibitions.

In 2023, Shem held his fourth UK solo show, Art School, in Margate, featuring works on diverse materials. He collaborated with HUGO BOSS UK for a solo show at the ICA London and designed wrapping paper for their Christmas and Valentine’s campaigns.
 

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Artwork by Shem
Love us, 2024 (acrylic paint, spray paint and oil crayon on canvas), Shem / Private Collection / Shem. All rights reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images
 
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