Depending on the source consulted, Spanish Baroque painter Juan de Pareja was born in the region of Andalusia, Spain, either in Seville or the much smaller city of Antequera 82 miles southeast, reputedly to a female of African descent and a native Spanish male whose … Read MoreJuan de Pareja (ca. 1606-1670)
Camille J. Billops, artist, filmmaker, archivist, and professor, was born on August 12, 1933, in Los Angeles. Her parents were Alma Gilmore and Lucius Billops, and she has one sister, Billie. She married James V. Hatch, a professor of theater at the University of California, … Read MoreCamille Billops (1933-2019)
African American artist and dancer Thelma Johnson Streat was born in Yakima, Washington on August 29, 1912, the second of Gertrude Beatrice Carson and James A. Johnson’s five children. Streat’s artistic ability was evident at a young age. She graduated from Washington High School in … Read MoreThelma Beatrice Johnson Streat (1912-1959)
Oil Painting of James V. Herring by James Porter, 1923 (Image Courtesy of Howard University) James Vernon Herring was an influential American artist and teacher in the early twentieth century. He played an integral role in devising new ways by which art would be viewed … Read MoreJames V. Herring (1887-1969)
Paul Dusenbury was a multi-talented visual artist, musician, teacher, and proponent of the synthesis of many art expressions. His explorations, infectious inspiration, and originality were well appreciated throughout the Seattle, Washington area where he taught and worked. He expressed caring relationships, and art that combined … Read MorePaul R. Dusenbury (1935-1998)
African-American artist Archibald J. Motley Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 7, 1891. At the age of two Motley was taken by his parents to Chicago when they decided to move north to seek better employment. The family finally settled in the … Read MoreArchibald J. Motley Jr. (1891-1981)
Artist Edward Bannister was a painter who concentrated on pastoral landscape scenes depicting the beauty and serenity of nature. He was the first African American artist to receive a national award. Bannister was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada in November of 1828. Little … Read MoreEdward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901)
Joshua Johnston, also known as Joshua Johnson, was a portraitist active in Baltimore, Maryland between 1790 and 1825, and the first African American to gain recognition as an artist. Primarily a painter of members of the slave-holding aristocracy, he was rediscovered by Baltimore genealogist and … Read MoreJoshua Johnston (ca. 1763-1832)
Artist and academic Jefferson Eugene Grigsby, Jr., was born on October 15, 1918 in Greensboro, North Carolina. His interest and enjoyment in art and creativity began in childhood and was later pursued through formal education. He earned a BA from Morehouse College in 1938 and … Read MoreJefferson Eugene Grigsby Jr. (1918- )
Visual artist, storyteller and feminist activist, Faith Ringgold was born on October 8, 1930 in Harlem Hospital, New York City to Andrew Louis Jones, Sr. and Willie Edell Jones (Willi Posey), a fashion designer and dressmaker. An arts graduate from City College in New York … Read MoreFaith Ringgold (1930-2024)
