A short story of Sybil Atteck (1911-1975)

Today in Trinidad the people who remember Sybil Atteck are diminishing with time. There is an effort under way by her nephew Keith Atteck to write a biographic work that highlights Sybil and her contribution to art in Trinidad and Tobago and provide a historical context to the Chinese family that surrounded her and nurtured her passion for art.
Sybil Marjory Atteck was born on February 3, 1911 on her grandfather’s estate in Tableland, South Trinidad. She was the third girl child to her parents Philip Charles Atteck and Elizabeth Atteck (née George). Her elder sisters were Olive Atteck and Olga Atteck. She was followed by her next younger sister Rita Atteck who was born in 1912. The family were sent off to find their own way on a piece of land in Rio Claro purchased by their father to establish a cocoa estate. This estate was next to the de Verteuil Estate. I am still trying for find out exactly where this was.
The four girls were soon followed by three more girls and one son. In Rio Claro the children were home schooled. The family eventually reached eleven children. Sybil’s best subject was art and this interest was established early in her life. Granny George encouraged the family to move to Port of Spain as the girls were now of age to go to convent school. The family moved the children, mother and grandmother to Port of Spain in 1924 where the eldest three girls went to Bishop Anstey in Port of Spain.
Sybil’s desire to be an artist was tempered with the family’s dire financial situation after the 1930’s arrival of the witches’ broom and black pod diseases that whipped out much of the cocoa harvests and put the family in debt to their Chinese creditors. In September of 1930 Sybil got her first job at the Experimental Station in St. Augustine an she would go onto to other jobs before becoming an professional artist. May of her siblings also went to work all to help support the family. It was in 1930 that Sybil first exhibited her art as part of one of the first exhibitions sponsored by the “Society of Independents” that was formed a year earlier in 1929.
Let’s fast forward to 1960 - 1962. By now Sybil is a founding member of the Trinidad Art Society. She has studied art in England, Italy, Peru and the United States. She is the first West Indian artist to have exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. Sybil Atteck is a professional art teacher and mentor to many local artists, and has done major art exhibitions nationally and internationally, completed many commissioned works including murals, and is in the prime of her career. Trinidad is on the brink of independence. Sybil is involved in selecting the art works for the opening of the Hilton Hotel and she is on the committee to develop the symbols of the nation. With the help of her brother Philip Atteck and his wife Helen Atteck they open an art gallery and flower shop at the Hilton Hotel, and Sybil is deeply involved in the efforts of the Trinidad Art Society as the Art Society President. Wow what a burst of energy not only for Sybil Atteck but for Trinidad. And there is so much more.
Sybil would soon face the most difficult moments in her life. In 1969 has her first bout with cancer. She tried desperately to raise the funds to pay for her treatment. With her future is now in doubt she fights on and survives this life challenge and continues with several exhibitions. In 1973 she is nominated for a Chaconia Medal (Gold) for her contribution to art in Trinidad and Tobago. However, her cancer returns and she was unable to be present to receive the medal. Her sister Olga, now returned to Trinidad to care for her ailing sister receives the medal on her behalf. Sybil struggles on through 1974 and eventually succumbs to her ailment on April 15, 1975.
However, Sybil Atteck is not forgotten. She is regaled in newspaper articles and magazines by her friends, peers, and may others. She is featured on Stamps of Trinidad and Tobago. Sybil Atteck is even in a crossword puzzle. And in 2006 she is featured in the celebration of the Bicentenary of the Chinese arrival in Trinidad. Her legacy lives on in the memory of her nephew, in the art that can be seen in Trinidad and around the world, and in the heart of the many students who had the privilege to be taught and mentored by Sybil Atteck. Source:Keith Atteck, Oct 6, 2019

---