December 22, 1960 Jean-Michael Basquiat, the first painter of African descent to become an international art star, was born in Brooklyn, New York. By the age of eleven, Basquiat was fluent in French and Spanish. He dropped out of high school and started as a graffiti artist. By 1982, he had become part of the […]
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December 16th in African American History – Minnie Evans
December 16, 1987 Minnie Evans, folk artist, died. Evans was born December 12, 1892 in Pender County, North Carolina but raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. She began drawing on Good Friday, 1935 after she heard a voice that said to her “why don’t you draw or die?” Evans had her first formal exhibition of drawings […]
November 26th in African American History – Ed Wilson
November 26, 1996 Ed Wilson, sculptor, died. Wilson was born March 28, 1925 in Baltimore, Maryland. After serving in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946, Wilson earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1953. Wilson’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement is apparent in his works like “Minority […]
November 21st in African American History – Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs
November 21, 2010 Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs, poet, artist, and educator, died. Burroughs was born November 1, 1917 in St. Rose, Louisiana, but raised in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Chicago Teacher’s College in 1946 and her Master of Arts degree in education from the Art Institute of […]
November 13th in African American History – Benny Andrews
November 13, 1930 Benny Andrews, painter, printmaker, and educator, was born in Plainview, Georgia. After serving in the United States Air Force as a staff sergeant from 1950 to 1954, Andrews earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He had his first New York City solo […]
November 10th in African American History – Benny Andrews
November 10, 2006 Benny Andrews, painter, printmaker, and educator, died. Andrews was born November 13, 1930 in Plainview, Georgia. After serving in the United States Air Force as a staff sergeant from 1950 to 1954, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Andrews had his […]
September 12th in African American History – Varnette Patricia Honeywood
September 12, 2010 Varnette Patricia Honeywood, painter, writer and businesswoman, died. Honeywood was born December 27, 1950 in Los Angeles, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in art from Spelman College in 1972 and her Master of Science degree in education from the University of Southern California in 1974. As part of a […]