In colonial times, imperial arrangements, both political and social, inhibited the growth of indigenous forms of artistic expression. Privileged West Indian sons were often educated in Europe, and European officials governed the islands. Paradoxically, it was this external control that facilitated the first formal emergence of a Trinidadian painter, Michel Jean Cazabon (1813-1888).

Cazabon was born in Trinidad, the son of Martiniquan free coloreds (a name once given to peoples of mixed race in the period after emancipation). He studied in Paris under Paul Delaroche and returned to Trinidad around 1850. Following closely the traditions of the French Landscape School, Cazabon depicted the islands and their people in watercolors and oils until his death in 1888.

With the exception of the work of Theodora Walter (1869-1959), daughter of a Trinidadian mother and grand-daughter of English watercolorist Theodore Walter, there are few examples of Trinidadian art from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Walter's botanical paintings and simple landscapes are all that remain from that period.

This trend was further reinforced by portraits of elegant Black figures executed by Boscoe Holder (born 1920) in the late 1930s, and in the early 1940s by the images of East Indian culture painted by M. P. Alladin (1919-1980). A new appreciation for the country's folklore, as seen in the illustrations of Alfred Codallo (1915-1970), also developed around this time.

The late 1940s and 1950s were dominated by the work of Sybil Atteck (1911-1975). Atteck studied in Europe and Peru, and later in the United States under the German Expressionist painter Max Beckmann. Her painting style developed from a Euro-Amerindian Neo-Classicism to a more Expressionistic style. The emerging political independence of the 1950s and early 1960s created a frenzy of activity in the arts, and Atteck's style formed the nucleus of Trinidad and Tobago's first recognizable painting school. Many artists from this period experimented with expressions of national identity, woven into strongly geometric compositions modeled after Atteck's work. Alongside this more formal development was the acceptance of intuitive painting as a valid expression, a phenomenon visible in the work of Leo Basso (1901-1982).

At the same time, however, older traditions of landscape painting continued with renewed vigor. The watercolors of Donald (Jackie) Hinkson (born 1942) are the best examples of this renewal. Nobel prizewinner and poet, Derek Walcott, described Hinkson: "It is now time to honor Hinkson for what he has become, with a mastery so prolific that his detractors mistake it for facility; I can pay Hinkson no deeper compliment than to summon the same admiration and technical astonishment for him as I do for Winslow Homer."

Since 1974, Peter Minshall (born 1941) has developed concepts for Trinidad's Carnival by placing the masquerader into highly exaggerated structures. By connecting the feet and arms of the puppet master to the actual costume, Minshall's designs lead to movements that project the energy of the wearer, who is nonetheless completely dominated by the puppet-structure. Minshall's designs have been featured in the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996.

Guy Beckles' kinetic sculptures have fascinated and amused with their varied and colorful presentations. The appreciation of Beckles' work as part of the mainstream of artistic expression in Trinidad and Tobago is growing. Similarly, the work of Parker Nicholas is being reevaluated. His imaginative sculptures, fashioned from found objects of all descriptions, are assembled in a variety of combinations for boxes, flowers, traditional Carnival characters, and toys.

Wendy Nanan (born 1955) has used the marriage of Christian and Hindu traditions, typical of Trinidad and Tobago's hybrid culture, for her inspiration. In her 'Cricket' series, Nanan captures the excitement and idiosyncrasies of the game with a few deft strokes, using black and white watercolor for a spontaneous feeling.

Lisa O'Connor (born 1965) is well known for her impressionistic renderings and careful observation of light. O'Connor delights in the details of Trinidad and Tobago's historic architecture, in particular, the play of ornate detailing with strong direct sunlight and the resulting intricate, yet playful, shadows. Adrian Camps-Campins' intuitive style also places an historic architectural past within the context of social events of the early part of the twentieth century. He creates whimsical narratives of Trinidad and Tobago's traditional cultural eccentricities, such as the Queen's Park Savannah, and the part they still play in the lives of Port of Spain's residents: sports, love, education, gossip, carefree school days, and other important themes.

Shastri Maharaj (born 1953) explores the mythology of Hinduism in the context of Trinidad's society, but in an Indo-Amerindian iconographic style. Maharaj's graphics are used on approximately an acre and a half of paving for the enhancement of Harris Promenade, San Fernando's main public walkway.

The work of Edward Bowen (born 1963) epitomizes the revival of 'anti-art' expression and contempt for the perceived conservatism of Trinidadian artistic appreciation. This is in apparent contrast to Bowen's reputation as one of Trinidad and Tobago's leading draftsmen of the human form and his brilliance in composition and use of color. Christopher Cozier (born 1959) explores the hypocrisy of Trinidad and Tobago's independence from a colonial past and the subtle and sometimes not so subtle social and racial divisions within the society.

Dean Arlen (born 1966) and Dominic MacLean (born 1971) examine social themes based on family experiences: Arlen often through simple and apparently mundane domestic or religious traditions; MacLean through his children and the balance of innocence and evil. Irénée Shaw (born 1963) explores feminist and religious issues, often through the extreme realism of her sometimes disarming self-portraits.

With the approach of the new millennium, and as Trinidad and Tobago matures socially and politically, younger artists look outward, preferring to identify themselves with the mainstream of contemporary regional and international expression, rather than with the older values of national, cultural and ethnic identity.