Lazarus Takawira born in 1952, in Nyanga in the eastern part of Zimbabwe, is the youngest of three sculpting brothers. His mother, Amai, was also a sculpture. Physically a massive man, his reputation is now as large as that of his deceased older brothers Bernard and the John.

Of his inspiration Lazarus says: “I only sculpt women. They are the most important sex because they are the source of all life, of all beauty, and of all joy for man. Women drive everything in our lives and as a sculptor, with every work I do I pay homage to the women in my life, who have made me what I am now.”

Lazarus’ work is held in the permanent and overseas collections of the Zimbabwean National Gallery, as well as various public collections around the world, including the Musée Rodin in Paris, The World Bank in New York the Africa Museum in Belgium and the Museum of Bombay, India. At the Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition during the Commonwealth Games 1990 he was presented to the Queen, whose heir, King Charles, has collected his work.

Private collectors from the UK, Australia, Germany, France, and the US have sought his work. Lazarus is frequently invited overseas to participate in art-in-residence programs at universities. He is one of Zimbabwe’s best known contemporary artists.

Lazarus has been represented in Canada since 2001.