Nikki Giovanni, 81, Profound Poet Whose Poignant Verse Reflected the Evolving Times in Which She Lived, Has Died
Nikki Giovanni. | Photo © Nikki Giovanni A PROFOUND VOICE and insightful wordsmith has passed on. Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024), the American poet, professor, public intellectual, and key figure in the Black Arts Movement, died in Blacksburg, Va., on Nov. 9. She was 81 years old. Virginia C. Fowler, Giovanni’s wife, told the New York...
A Life in Pictures: Judith Jamison (1943-2024) Alvin Ailey Dancer and Choreographer Led Storied Company to New Heights
Judith Jamison. | Photo by Andrew Eccles AN ELEGANT FORCE and transformative figure in the dance world, Judith Jamison died on Nov. 9 in New York City. She was 81. A dancer, choreographer, and artistic director, Jamison worked with many prominent figures early on, including Agnes de Mille, Carmen de Lavallade, and Geoffrey Holder,...
Remembering Artist Floyd Newsum, 74, Co-Founder of Project Row Houses and ‘Pillar of the Houston Arts Community’
Floyd Newsum (1950-2024) stands before his work. | Photo: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art HOUSTON, TEXAS, LOST a celebrated arts leader over the summer. Floyd Newsum (1950-2024), an artist, educator, and co-founder of Project Row Houses (PRH), died on Aug. 14. He was 74. Newsum was a professor of art at the University of...
In Memoriam: Artists, Curators, and Friends Remember Faith Ringgold as a ‘Great Artist,’ ‘Fearless Activist,’ and ‘Blessing to All of Us’
An Evening with Faith Ringgold: Serpentine Galleries hosted a conversation with the artist, conducted by Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist at Conway Hall in London (June 6, 2019). | Photo © Talie Rose Eigeland AN EXTRAORDINARY ARTIST known for her political paintings and story quilts, Faith Ringgold, (1930-2024) lived a long and productive life....
Sonny’s Bridge: Treasured Quilt by Faith Ringgold Covers New Yorker Magazine, a Memorial Tribute to the Celebrated Artist
THE NEW YORKER is memorializing Faith Ringgold (1930-2024) with a cover tribute. “Sonny’s Bridge” (1986) by Ringgold is featured on the May 6 edition of the magazine. The painted quilt celebrates tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins. He’s pictured playing his horn high atop a bridge with the New York City skyline in the background. The scene...
Faith Ringgold, the Great American Artist Known for Her Political Paintings and Story Quilts, Has Died at 93
FAITH RINGGOLD, “Black Light Series #11: US America Black,” 1969 (oil on canvas, 60 x 84 inches). | © 2024 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York ONE OF THE GIANTS has passed on. Faith Ringgold, (1930-2024), the extraordinary artist who made political paintings with an unvarnished...
Richard Mayhew at 100: Artistic Community Pays Tribute to ‘One of America’s Most Important Landscape Painters’
Richard Mayhew was born April 3, 1924 in Amityville, N.Y. The artist is shown in his studio in Soquel, Calif. | Courtesy Venus Over Manhattan, New York, N.Y. UPDATE (09/27/24): Richard Mayhew died on Sept. 26, 2024. His passing was confirmed by his representatives, ACA Galleries and Venus Over Manhattan, and reported by ARTnews...
In Memoriam: Artist Jesse Lott, 80, Was a ‘Mythic Person’ and Co-Founder of Project Row Houses in Houston
“Jesse Lott: Art & Activism” is directed and edited by Cressandra Thibodeaux. The footage was shot by 28 students from the 14 Pews Film Academy. The film won Best Short Documentary at the International Black Film Festival and Tulsa American Film Festival. | Video by Cressandra Thibodeaux A short documentary made in 2017 explores...
In Memoriam: Artists, Curators, and Friends Reflect on Life and Work of Master Printer Lou Stovall: An ‘Outstanding Fine Artist’ and ‘Heartbeat of Washington, D.C., Art Scene’
Lou Stovall (1937-2023) at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., 2018. | Copyright © 2018 Freed Photography Inc., All Rights Reserved LOU STOVALL (1937-2023) PUT WASHINGTON, D.C., on the printmaking map. In 1968, he established Workshop Inc., a silkscreen studio designed to “reach new audiences, connect with political movements, and create opportunities for a...
Lou Stovall’s Studio Assistants Share Fond Memories of Working With the Master Printer: ‘We Lost One of the Best Silkscreen Artists in the World’
Lou Stovall working at his drawing table at Workshop Inc., Dupont Center, 1969. | Courtesy Lou Stovall Workshop LOU STOVALL’S WORKSHOP INC., was a thriving creative enterprise for half a century. Two years after he graduated from Howard University, Stovall established the silkscreen studio in Washington, D.C. The year was 1968. Initially, he...
AfriCOBRA Artist Nelson Stevens Has Died at 84: He Contributed to a ‘Radical Black Aesthetic That Asserted Black Empowerment, Self-Determination, and Unity’
AN EARLY MEMBER of the Chicago collective AfriCOBRA has died. Artist Nelson Stevens (1938-2022), passed away on July 22. He was 84. His death was first reported by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. The news was confirmed to Culture Type by his gallery, Galerie Myrtis in Baltimore, Md. In a statement, the gallery said:...
Latest News in Black Art: Veteran Studio Museum Board Member Nancy Lane Has Died, Amanda Hunt Joins Walker Art Center, Gladys Kalichini Wins Henrike Grohs Art Award, Plus Tate, SFMOMA, RISD & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Nancy Lane at Studio Museum in Harlem 2015 gala. | Photo by Julie Skarratt, Courtesy The Studio Museum in Harlem Lives New York art collector and philanthropist Nancy Lee Lane (1933-2022) died March 28....
Lives: Moe Brooker, 81, Artist, Educator, and Prominent Figure in Philadelphia Arts Community, Has Died
A PROMINENT FIGURE in the Philadelphia arts community, Moe Brooker (1940-2022) died on Jan. 9 after a brief stay at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. An artist and educator who had served as chair of the Philadelphia Art Commission, Brooker was 81. Active for more than half a century, Brooker made abstract...
Lives: A Look Back at Notable Artists and Designers Who Died in 2021, From Peter Williams, Judson Powell, and Winfred Rembert to Virgil Abloh
BLACK ARTISTS representing multiple generations and disciplines died in 2021, including Virgil Abloh, Winfred Rembert, Donald P. Ryder, Chi Modu, and Peter Williams. Figures such as Judson Powell of Los Angeles, Eugene Wade of Chicago, Charles McGee of Detroit, and Denzil Hurley of Seattle, Wash., who were well-known locally and deserve wider attention, also...
Greg Tate (1957-2021): Cultural Critic Who Made His Name Writing About Hip Hop, Was Equally Attuned to Visual Art
CULTURAL CRITIC AND MUSICIAN Greg Tate (1957-2021) died Dec. 7 in New York. He was 64. Widely renowned and beloved, Tate wrote with a singular style and insight about music, art, and culture at-large. In the 1970s, he worked at Just Above Midtown Gallery in New York, the storied gathering place and exhibition space...
Painter Peter Williams, Who ‘Was Not Afraid to Poignantly Portray the Truths of Contemporary Society,’ Has Died. He Was 69
Painter Peter Williams in his studio in 2018. | Courtesy Luis De Jesus Los Angeles ARTIST AND EDUCATOR Peter Williams (1952-2021) has died. He was 69. A fantastic painter and storyteller, his use of bold and intense color was equally matched by his candid and thoughtful insights about his own experiences and the realities...
Artist Michelangelo Lovelace Sr., Who Documented the Challenges of Life in Urban Cleveland, Has Died at Age 60
SHINING A LIGHT on his Cleveland community and its myriad social and economic challenges, artist Michelangelo Lovelace Sr. (1960-2021), addressed issues of racial injustice, crime, poverty, and unemployment in his work. Lovelace also documented people coming together—for parties, parades, or political rallies—and infused his pictures with wisdom and positive messages. The work reflected what...
America Paid Homage to Civil Rights Icon John Lewis This Week in Multi-City Homegoing Worthy of a Statesman
July 26. 2020: Casket of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge by horse drawn caisson in Selma, Ala. | Photo by AP Photo/John Bazemore, © 2020 The Associated Press AMERICA PAID HOMAGE to the Honorable John Lewis (1940-2020) this week in the cities where his biography unfolded in ceremonies worthy of...
Congressman John Lewis, the Civil Rights Icon and Lifelong Freedom Fighter, Was a Museum Advocate Who Recognized the Importance of Art and Artists
Portrait of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. | Photo by Anthony Geathers, Used with permission AN ENDURING IMAGE of the Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis (1940-2020) took a knee. It was the summer of 1962 and he was leading a vigil outside a “whites only” swimming pool...
Ronald Ollie, 69, a Major Collector of African American Abstract Art Who Gifted 81 Works to Saint Louis Art Museum, Has Died
Collector Ronald Ollie (1951-2020) AN AVID COLLECTOR of African American art and generous museum patron, Ronald Ollie (1951-2020) has died. He passed away at his home in Newark, N.J., on June 1. He was 69. His wife Monique McRipley Ollie confirmed his death to Culture Type. She told me via email, “I think his...
