The first thing you notice about Sonia Isaacs is her Joie de vivre: the generous grin and laughing eyes, the celebratory dress, the warm “Hello! Please come in” as she welcomes you into the gallery that bears her name.

Born on the island of New Providence, in the city of Nassau in the Bahamas, Sonia’s early education began at Saint Thomas Moore School and St. Johns College. Upon completion of high school she followed her passion for art to Rome, Paris, Geneva and London, where she studied art history. Eager to continue her art studies, Sonia traveled to Boston, Massachussets to attend Art School where she majored in Fine Arts. After completing college, she returned home to begin her career as a professional artist.

In 1979 Sonia was appointed Gallery Director of the Lyford Cay Gallery. This position awarded her recognition as the first Bahamian to hold the position.

Form 1982 to 1983 she served as Art Director of Nassau Glass and later held a similar position at The Spectrum Art Gallery.

In 1984 Sonia hosted a one-woman exhibition in New Jersey U.S.A., sponsored by the magazine House Beautiful. The exhibition was a charitable event in aid of the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County and was a pioneering endeavor for any professional Bahamian artist.
Sonia, in another groundbreaking achievement, became the first Bahamian female artist to have eight of her paintings adorn the cover of six books and two maps by Dupuch Publications and The Islander a product of Spectrum Group.

        When you have that exquisite taste of Sonia’s work you find yourself enamored by the art. Oils and acrylic on canvas, hung across the white walls of two rooms of Sonia’s gallery, invite you into the fantastic, kaleidoscopic perceptions of the painter. The cacophony of brazen Junkanoo colours in every image tells you she draws her creative energies from the islands. Each painting, whether a pristine realism or a tripped out abstract, or a work in the “primitive” style has within it an expression of her own indomitable Life-Spirit, going on.

        Though a timeless talent in what she does Sonia Isaacs has created much more than poetic imagery. She has proven herself as a successful businesswoman and mother. Opening her home and studio to the public, she has played hostess to hundred of tourists ushered in by the busloads by the Ministry of Tourism. Local art lovers are always arriving to check out the ever-changing collection too. Everyone from every financial bracket can find a piece of original artwork or a quality print to take home. She sells every piece she makes. Her ability to make fine art both appealing and available to absolutely everyone is the key to her strategy for success.

        Sonia is an island woman with a global reach. Fine galleries in Nassau confirm that many art buying tourists will come especially looking for her work. Her works are in private and corporate collections at home and abroad, including the collections of Oprah Winfrey, the Atlantis Hotel, and the Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling Airport. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also chosen her works to present to heads of state. With her background in teaching, Sonia has take her talent to the classroom once again, becoming a mentor and a role model to those who would paint their future in her image.