Walker, Jill (sold)
Jill Walker (1927 - 2021) was born in England in 1927 and named Joanna Jill Crockford. Discovering art at an early age, Jill determined early in life that she was going to be an artist. Eager to escape the lean post-war years in Britain, Jill booked a one-way ticket on a freighter to Guyana (then British Guiana) to visit a friend with money borrowed from her father. She met a young bachelor named Jimmy Walker, on her first night, and the two fell in love. Jimmy, a Scottish architect, was the Chief Architect to the government in Guyana, and they married in Barbados in 1956. They permanently settled in Barbados, where Jimmy worked as an architect and Jill developed her incredible artistic talent. In 1975, Jimmy and Jill opened The Best of Barbados Gift Shop to promote Jill's art. The gift shop became incredibly successful with a handful of locations across Barbados. Jill died at home in 2021.
Created by a beloved artist who spent over fifty years on Barbados.
This is a c. 1980 Jill Walker pictorial tourist map of Barbados. Effortlessly combining the practical with charming detail, red lines trace roads across the island and yellow boxes highlight tourist sites. Towns and villages are identified throughout, and hotels, convention centers, yacht clubs, lighthouses, and numerous other locations are labeled as well. A circular inset focusing on Bridgetown occupies the upper right. Wonderful illustrations of fish, birds, tourist sites, local activities, and other vignettes relating to life on Barbados fill the ocean around the island and create a charming pictorial border for the whole piece. (more details)