Christopher González
1943–2008 · Jamaican expressionist sculptor and painter
Christopher González (1943 – 2008) was a Jamaican expressionist sculptor and painter of Puerto Rican and Jamaican parentage. He trained at the Jamaica School of Art, graduating in sculpture in 1963, and later earned a Master's in Fine Arts at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Influenced by Edna Manley and Pablo Picasso, he taught in Jamaica, California and Atlanta.
His best-known work is a 9-foot bronze statue of Bob Marley commissioned by the Jamaican government, showing the musician with a tree trunk for a lower body and a distorted face. When it was unveiled in Kingston in 1983, angry fans threw fruit and rocks at it. He also made two bronze reliefs marking Jamaica's independence and worked on the tomb of Norman Washington Manley. His works are held at the National Gallery of Jamaica and the Bank of Jamaica, and he exhibited in several countries. He died of cancer in 2008.