The most celebrated African artist of the 20th century was the modernist sculptor-painter from Onitsha, Anambra, Nigeria, born Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu on July 14, 1917. One of the twin sons of cloth merchandiser Chinyelugo Nweze and Omenka Enwonwu, an engineer with the Royal Niger … Read MoreBen Enwonwu (1917-1994)
World-renowned painter Beauford Delaney was born on December 30, 1901, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Samuel Delaney, a barber and a Methodist minister, and Delia Johnson Delaney, a seamstress born of slave parents. They had ten children. Two of the sons were painters, including Joseph Delaney. … Read MoreBeauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Sian Hayley Proctor is a geology professor, motivational speaker, pilot, artist, author, and spaceflight participant most noted for her flight on the civilian-funded Inspiration 4 Space Mission in September 2021. The flight was sponsored by U.S. technology billionaire Jared Isaacman to raise funds for St. … Read MoreSian Proctor (1970- )
Grafton Tyler Brown was a cartographer, lithographer, and painter, widely considered the first professional African American artist in California. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1841, Brown learned lithography in Philadelphia and then became part of a cohort of African Americans who sought better economic and … Read MoreGrafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918)
Lydia Fedorovna Arkhipova was a prolific painter who achieved fame in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and abroad. She also developed her original style which challenged the major trends in Soviet-era art. Arkhipova’s father was Frederick Bruce Thomas, widely known before the Russian Revolution … Read MoreLydia Fedorovna Arkhipova (1914-1997)
Julia López is an established painter whose work is considered an early example of the “breakaway” generation of painters who began to move away from the muralista artistic tradition in Mexico. López was born in the Costa Chica region in the state of Guerrero on … Read MoreJulia López (1936- )
Clara Ledesma was one of the leading Dominican artists during the post-World War II era. Born in Santiago De Los Caballeros, DR, on March 5th, 1924, to Bienvenido Ledesma Piera and Beatriz Christian, Ledesma began her artistic journey in the 1930s, under the tutelage of … Read MoreClara Ledesma (1924-1999)
Artist Nancy Elizabeth Prophet was born in Warwick, Rhode Island on March 19, 1890, the second of three children. Her mother, Rose Walker Profitt was African American; her father, William H. Profitt was a Narragansett Indian. Prophet was married to Francis Ford from 1915 to … Read MoreNancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890-1960)
For over thirty years Sylvia Luz del Villard Güilbert gave global lectures and performances on the African influence in Puerto Rico (PR) as an activist, actress, artist, ballerina, choreographer, coloratura, dancer, declamadora, folklorist, lecturer, orator, painter, teacher, singer, and writer. Reared by Paula Moreno Herrera, … Read MoreSylvia del Villard (1927-1990)
