Gordon de la Mothe was given an OBE in 2015, primarily for services to art on the Commonwealth island of Grenada, West Indies, his birthplace. He established the teaching of art in Grenada, teaching GCSE and A Level art. The courses he began and taught have resulted in many successful young people establishing careers in the West Indies, America and Great Britain. He came to England in 1957 with a few O Levels, but worked his way up in teaching. He created the very successful series of teaching sessions which were eventually published into the seminal book Reconstructing the Black Image. A preliminary pen drawing by Gordon de la Mothe of an unknown Rastafari.