Adamu Tesfaw

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Adamu Tesfaw
Born1933 (age 91–92)
Bichena, Gojjam province, Ethiopia
EducationEducated as a priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Self-directed pursuit of painting career (with mentorship from godfather Yohannes Tessema)
Known forLarge paintings on cloth depicting Ethiopian culture, history, and Orthodox religious scenes
Notable workThe Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (British Museum collection)
MovementContemporary Ethiopian art
Ethiopian Orthodox traditional art

Adamu Tesfaw (born 1933), [1] also called Qes Adamu Tesfaw, [note 1] is an Ethiopian painter and he was raised in Bichena in Gojjam province. He was educated as a priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the late 1950s, he moved to Addis Ababa to pursue painting as a career, ultimately leaving the priesthood. There he had the help of his godfather Yohannes Tessema, a successful commercial artist. He sold paintings through his godfather, and later through several souvenir shops in Addis Ababa. Adamu produces large paintings on cloth of scenes of Ethiopian culture and history, and also religious art in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.

Contents

His work has been featured in a number of showings of Ethiopian art overseas, and the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History organized a touring exhibition of his work in 2004, which continued touring until at least November 2007.

In 2004 he also appeared on the popular Ethiopian Television program "Meto Haya".

Collections

Tesfaw’s work are held in international museum collections, including the British Museum , which lists a large oil painting depicting The Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba painted in Addis Ababa. These institutional holdings help preserve and present his contribution to contemporary Ethiopian art. [2]

Further reading

Notes

  1. ↑ "Qes" is an honorific for priests in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.

References

  1. ↑ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  2. ↑ "oil painting". The British Museum.



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