DAVID C. DRISKELL, “Five Blue Notes,” 1980 (painting, 22.50 x 29.50 inches). | Gift of Nene Humphrey from the Benny Andrews and Nene Humphrey Collection, 2010.06.020. © David C. Driskell / David C. Driskell Center, 2017, Photography by Greg Staley, 2018
AN ARTIST, CURATOR, AND SCHOLAR, David C. Driskell (1931-2020) is a foundational figure in African American art history and therefore, inherently, American art history. “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship” gathers works by Driskell and his “friends,” showcasing the depth and breadth of his influence and connections.
A 1955 alum of Howard University where he also taught, Driskell became chair of the art department at Fisk University in 1966, serving for a decade. In 1976, he curated “Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750–1950,” the landmark traveling exhibition that originated at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and featured more than 200 works produced between 1750 to 1950.
In 1977, Driskell joined the faculty University of Maryland (UMD) at College Park, led the art department from 1978 to 1983, and retired as a distinguished university professor in 1998. In 2001, UMD established in his honor the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts & Culture of African Americans & the African Diaspora.
“This exhibition exemplifies the lighting rod of change that the artworks and curatorial vision by David C. Driskell represent,” Emily Zimmerman, director of exhibitions and curatorial affairs at Arthur Ross Gallery, said in a statement. “As a university art gallery dedicated to transformative scholarship, it is a pleasure to present the work of a group of artists that changed the course of art history to canonize the work of Black American and African Diasporic artists in the 1970s. It was radical then and remains a vital chapter in art history.”
“It is a pleasure to present the work of a group of artists that changed the course of art history to canonize the work of Black American and African Diasporic artists in the 1970s. It was radical then and remains a vital chapter in art history.” — Arthur Ross Gallery Director Emily Zimmerman
June 14, 2024: Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, inaugural faculty director of Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa., giving remarks at the opening of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship.” | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
Highlighting the artistic and institutional legacy of Driskell, the traveling exhibition “David C. Driskell and Friends” features prominent artists in his orbit. The version of the show presented at Arthur Ross Gallery focuses on color, form, and place across a range of styles from abstraction to landscape and some figuration.
The works are largely paintings and prints with a handful of sculptures on view. Represented artists include Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, Melvin Edwards, Felrath Hines, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Richard Mayhew, Keith Morrison, James Porter, Betye Saar, Alma Thomas, Charles White, and Hale Woodruff.
The group includes Driskell’s friends, contemporaries, mentors, and fellow Washington, D.C., artists, transformative and canonical figures. Porter, who is considered the dean of African American art history, for example, taught Driskell at Howard. Years later, Driskell succeeded Douglas as department chair at Fisk. Douglas was the leading artist of the Harlem Renaissance. Several other artists in the show are affiliated with the two HBCUs and many were included in the “Two Centuries” exhibition.
“David C. Driskell and Friends” is co-curated by Sheila Bergman, Curlee Raven Holton, and Heather Sincavage in collaboration with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, inaugural faculty director of Arthur Ross Gallery. The exhibition presents artworks from the permanent collection of the Driskell Center. In addition to the many artworks on view, the show includes a selection of archival materials from The David C. Driskell Papers, which are housed at the center. CT
“David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, & Friends” is on view at Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa., from June 15-Sept. 15, 2024. The exhibition travels next to Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Mich.; Frist Art Museum in Nashville, Tenn. (March 14-June 1, 2025); and Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami, Fla.
FIND MORE about David C. Driskell on the Driskell Center website
FIND MORE about David C. Driskell in a memorial tribute to the artist and scholar on Culture Type
FIND MORE about Driskell and fellow Washington D.C., artists who shaped the city’s 20th century art scene on Culture Type
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. Shown, Works by Charles White (left) and David C. Driskell (right). | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
ALMA THOMAS, Untitled, circa 1966 (acrylic on paper, 9 x 35.50 inches). | Gift of Susan Kaim Talley and Bascom D. Talley III, 2020.04.001, Photo by Greg Staley, 2020
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. Shown, Works by Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas, and David C. Driskell. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship” at the Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. Shown, “Morning” by Romare Bearden. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. Shown, “Mask Series II” by David C. Driskell. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
DAVID C. DRISKELL, “Mask Series II,” 2019 (relief woodcut, 14.50 x 11 inches. | Gift of Raven Fine Art Editions, 2019.10.002, Photo by Greg Staley, 2019
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
June 14, 2024: Jordana Moore Saggese (left), director of the David C. Driskell Center and professor of modern and contemporary American art, art history and archaeology at the University of Maryland at College Park, in conversation at the opening of “Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship” at Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
Installation view of “David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship,” Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 2024. | Courtesy Arthur Ross Gallery
BOOKSHELF
“David C. Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, & Friendship” was published on the occasion of the exhibition and is available at the David C. Driskell Center. “David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History” accompanied a recent traveling survey, the most comprehensive examination of the artist’s more than six-decade career. “Two Centuries of Black American Art” documents the landmark exhibition curated by David C. Driskell in 1976. Also consider, “David C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar,” “Creative Spirit: The Art of David C. Driskell,” and “Narratives of African American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection.”
