David C. Driskell

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David C. Driskell (2016)

David Clyde Driskell (born June 7, 1931 in Eatonton , Georgia , † April 1, 2020 in Washington, DC ) was an American artist, curator and art scholar . The art professor's work is considered fundamental to the recognition of African American art.

Life

Georgia-born David Driskell grew up in North Carolina . Driskell went to Maine , where he graduated from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1953. This was followed by art studies at Howard University , which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1955. In 1962 David Driskell earned a Master of the Fine Arts degree from the Catholic University of America . He also studied art history in The Hague .

While still studying, he began teaching at Talladega College in 1955 . He continued to teach at Howard University and Fisk University . He was visiting professor at numerous American universities and at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife ( Nigeria ). In 1977 he began teaching at the University of Maryland's Arts Department. From 1978 to 1983 he served on the faculty board and in 1995 he was named Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland . In 1998 he retired.

The exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750–1950 , supervised by him in 1976, is considered to be the beginning of the preoccupation with Afro-American visual art. The exhibit was shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and then traveled to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts , the Atlanta High Museum of Art , and the Brooklyn Museum . The exhibition catalog he compiled is an important reference work for African American art. He advised Oprah Winfrey , Bill Cosby, and the White House on art acquisitions and curated over 30 exhibitions by African American artists. His own collection comprised over 100 works and was presented to the public in the traveling exhibition Narratives of African American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection from 1998.

As an artist, he mainly created collages . He also worked in watercolor and gouaches . From 1998 his work was presented in the traveling exhibition Echoes: The Art of David C. Driskell, 1955-1997 .

On April 1, 2020, David Driskell died at the age of 88 as a result of a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Honors

David Driskell has received thirteen honorary doctorate hats during his lifetime . He was a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow and a Harmon Foundation Fellow. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2000 by President Bill Clinton . In 2007 Driskell was elected a National Academician by the National Academy . In 2016 the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture awarded him the Lifetime Legacy Award . He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018 .

In 2001 the David C. Driskell Center was set up at the University of Maryland to preserve its artistic work, but also the visual arts of African American.

Since 2005, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has awarded the David C. Driskell Prize for national merit in African American art and art history.

Web links

Commons : David C. Driskell  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the NYT, Driskell died near Hyattsville, Maryland .
  2. ↑ a b c David Driskell, 88, Pivotal champion of African-American Art, this , The New York Times of 7 April 2020th
  3. ↑ a b c d Pamela Newkirk, How David C. Driskell Shaped the Story of Black Art in America: From the Archives , ArtNews of April 6, 2020.
  4. ↑ David C. Driskell in the DC Moore Gallery .
  5. ↑ Bart Barnes, David Driskell, advocate for African American art, dies at 88 of coronavirus , Washington Post, April 3, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Driskell, David C.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Driskell, David; Driskell, David Clyde
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American artist and art historian
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Eatonton , Georgia
DATE OF DEATH April 1, 2020
Place of death Washington, DC