Henry Nkole Tayali (22 November 1943 – 22 July 1987) was a multi-lingual Zambian fine artist, sculptor, printmaker, raconteur and lecturer.
Tayali was born on 22 November 1943 to Edward Nkole Tayali (1914–1995) and Esnati Mumba Tayali (née Chola, 1923–1963) in Serenje in the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia (later to become Zambia), a town near the site of the Nsalu.
Henry Tayali was the oldest of seven brothers and sisters.
He has been described as Zambia’s most famous painter.
Tayali first started painting while at school in Bulawayo in the late 1950s.
He attended secondary school in Bulawayo at Mpopoma High School and during this time produced the work Destiny.
In 1971, he married Regina Mary Birungi Kivubiro while still in Uganda, and just before returning to Zambia and they had a son in 1972, Rhodrick Tayali.
Tayali was also a keen photographer, having studied photography for his Masters, and always carried his trusted Leica SLR camera with him wherever he went.
Other work included efforts to establish a School of Fine Arts in Zambia and numerous field trips within Zambia to record and preserve the arts and cultures of the various tribes for posterity – including audio recordings.
Tayali was one of the first Africans to work tirelessly to raise the profile of indigenous African art and crafts in Zambia, Africa, and the world through workshops, conferences, discussions, exhibitions, newspaper articles, magazines and television appearances.