Basil Watson

Basil Watson (born 1958) is a Jamaican sculptor.

He is the son of painter Barrington Watson, and the brother of sculptor Raymond Watson. He was honoured with the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, in 2016, in recognition of his artistic accomplishments.

Watson completed a sculpture entitled Balance in November 2006, which was installed at Doctor's Cave Bathing Club in Montego Bay in honor of the club's centennial. The bronze sculpture, which is eight feet tall and weighs seven hundred pounds, depicts a running Ottey reaching for the sky with her right hand. Watson described the task as an "honour" and a "privilege", citing the esteem in which he held McKenley.

That December, Watson was added to the list of artists invited to provide works for the National Gallery of Jamaica's National Biennial exhibition.

He was chosen from four finalists to create the United Kingdom's National Windrush Monument, which was unveiled at London Waterloo station in June 2022.

On August 16, 2024, a 12-foot statue of John Lewis by Watson was installed in Decatur, Georgia, in the place where an obelisk monument to the Confederacy was put by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908; the obelisk was removed in 2020. That same year, Steadfast Stride Toward Justice, another statue of Lewis designed by Watson, was installed in Montgomery, Alabama.

On June 19, 2025, a 10 foot statue of Lewis and Harriet Hayden was unveiled outside Lexington Traditional Magnet School in Lexington, Kentucky. The statue, named "Towards Freedom", faces north to symbolize the direction escaped slaves traveled on the Underground Railroad.