Nigerian-born Njideka Akunyili Crosby is a leading contemporary artist. In early 2018 a typically large-scale painting by Crosby sold for $3 million, just a few months after she had won a MacArthur Foundation “genius” award worth $624,000. Born in 1983 in Enugu, Nigeria, she is … Read MoreNjideka Akunyili Crosby (1983- )
Having achieved considerable success after switching careers, Thomas “Detour” Evans has been in big demand as a muralist and portrait artist. Born December 12, 1984 in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Leroy M. Evan, an Army lieutenant colonel, Evans lived on military base on two … Read MoreThomas Neil-Abraham Evans (1984- )
David Clyde Driskell was an artist, art historian, curator, and professor. He was known as one of the world’s leading authorities on African American art and was recognized for establishing it as a distinct field of study. Driskell died on April 1, 2020, at a … Read MoreDavid Clyde Driskell (1931-2020)
M. Gayle Dickson, also known as Asali, was the only woman graphic artist for the Black Panther Party Newspaper between 1972 and 1974. Dickson was born in Berkeley, California on June 27, 1948 to James Stowers, a dry cleaner owner, and Madeline Stowers, a seamstress. … Read MoreMadeline Gayle “Asali” Dickson (1948- )
Thomas Blackshear is a renowned painter and sculptor. Blackshear was born in Waco, Texas on November 14, 1955 to Thomas Richman Blackshear, a U.S. Air Force pilot, and his wife, whose name is unknown. Mostly raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Blackshear loved to draw. Upon finishing … Read MoreThomas Richman Blackshear II (1955- )
Amy Sherald, a portrait artist, was the first African American woman to complete a presidential portrait for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. She is best known for painting the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Sherald was born on August 30, 1973 in Columbus, Georgia, … Read MoreAmy Sherald (1973- )
Kehinde Wiley, an artist, is best known for his 2018 official portrait of former U.S. President Barack Obama and the first African American to complete a portrait of a president for the National Portrait Gallery. Wiley was born a twin in Los Angeles, California on February 28, 1977, to Isaiah D. … Read MoreKehinde Obot Wiley (1977- )
Clarence Lee Major is a distinguished poet, novelist, painter, anthologist, lexicographer, memoirist, and teacher. His creative output encompasses a wide range of artistic and intellectual endeavors across six decades, producing works that have often defied expectations, provoked controversy, and revealed new ways of seeing. Major was born December 31, 1936, … Read MoreClarence Major (1936- )
Josef Nassy was an Afro-Jewish artist and Holocaust survivor. Born on January 19, 1904 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch Guiana), he was one of seven children born to Adolf Philipus Nassy, a prosperous Jewish businessman who was elected to the Surinam Parliament, and Elisabeth Carolina Natalia Nassy (born de Maesschalk), … Read MoreJosef Johan Cosmo Nassy (1904-1976)
Elton Clay Fax, a prolific African-American cartoonist, author, and illustrator, was born on October 9, 1909, in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were Mark Oakland Fax, a clerk, and Willie Estelle Fax, a seamstress. Elton’s younger brother, Mark, was a music prodigy who worked as a … Read MoreElton Fax (1909-1993)
