Eduardo Saidi Tingatinga was born in 1932 in Ruvuma Region, Southern Tanzania.
He attended primary school until standard four.

In 1960 he moved to Dar es Salaam, where he worked as a casual labourer and a street vendor selling fruits and vegetables. He embroidered pillow cases, table clothes and bed covers, decorated houses with wall paintings and was an entertaining musician.

Inspired by Congolese street artists, he thought that he could also make a living by painting. He bought enamel paint, brushes, thinner and ceiling boards, 60 by 60cm, and started painting, considering it a source of income rather than a form of art.

His naïve and simple motifs – fantastic animals and wild life, birds from the savannah and scenes from village life – soon found the attention of a varied crowd of customers: resident Europeans, tourists and Tanzanians.

As Tingatinga's paintings became more and more successful, he began working with his relatives and close friends. This led to the first generation of the Tingatinga Movement. They called themselves 'Colour Artisans' as they did not consider themselves as "Artists". This first generation of Tingatinga artists included Simon Mpata, Kaspar Hendrick Tedo, Mandu Adeusi and Omary Abdallah Amonde.

Eduardo Saidi Tingatinga's career lasted only four years and came to an abrupt end in 1972 at the age of 40, when he was killed by a stray bullet.

He laid the foundation of a flourishing 'Folk's-Craft-Art" in Tanzania. 'The Tinga Tinga Movement".

The Buffalo | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca. 1970
CODE: TING1

Snake, Stork & Frog | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca. 1970 -
CODE: TING10

Birds | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING16

Lion | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING2

Three Storks | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING11

Storks and Snake | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970 | CODE: TING18
Astist: Kaspar Hendrik Tedo

Peacock | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING9

Elephant | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING13

Hyena | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING14

Lion | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING15

Kudu | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970 | CODE: TING3
Artist: Mandu Adeusi

Village | Enamel on Ceiling Board | 60cm x 60cm - ca 1970
CODE: TING17

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