Gladwyn K. “Miss Lassie” Bush
The Prophet and the Bird, 1994
Acrylic on canvas
Cayman Islands National Museum Collection (Gift of Gladwyn K. ‘Miss Lassie’ Bush)
Jacob with Wives and 12 tribes of Israel, n.d.
Mixed Media on Glass
Painted Fridge, n.d.
Mixed media
Cayman National Cultural Foundation Collection
Gladwyn K. “Miss Lassie” Bush (1914–2003) is widely recognized as the Cayman Islands’ most celebrated Intuitive artist. She began painting at the age of 62, following a visionary experience, creating works she referred to as her “markings.” Her art first gained international acclaim when it was featured in the 1995 traveling exhibition Carib Art.
Her distinctive Intuitive style, characterized by strong Christian themes, offers a liberally interpreted vision of biblical narratives and personalities, often set against a backdrop evocative of her Caymanian surroundings. Beyond canvas paintings, she adorned the walls, shutters, and furnishings of her home - including a painted refrigerator and other domestic objects, and paintings on glass. Her home, named The Mind’s Eye and located in South Sound, Grand Cayman, is a beloved cultural landmark, which was placed on the World Heritage Watch List in 2012.
The Cayman National Cultural Foundation owns a significant collection of her work, two of which were lent to this exhibition, and was instrumental in the conservation of The Mind’s Eye.
Biography adapted from National Gallery of the Cayman Islands website: (https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/artist/gladwyn-k-miss-lassie-bush/