The Orisha Art of Erik Olivera Rubio
“First I’m Black and after that I’m many things.” ~Erik Olivera Rubio Afro-Cuban portrait artist Erik Olivera Rubio is known for his unique style of...
Tag : Black artist
Jackie Ormes: The first professional African American woman cartoonist
Jackie Ormes (August 1, 1911 – December 26, 1985) was born Zelda Jackson in a small town outside Pittsburgh. She was a self-taught artist who...
Charles Alston: Reclaiming identity through art
Charles Alston (November 28, 1907 – April 27, 1977) was an African-American Harlem Renaissance artist who created vital representations of black experiences and figures during...
Henry Ossawa Tanner: First internationally acclaimed African American artist
“Many of the artists who have represented Negro life have seen only the comic, ludicrous side of it, and have lacked sympathy with and appreciation...
Tom Feelings: Visual storyteller with an African perspective
Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was a well-known artist, cartoonist, children’s book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. From the dawn of...
Laura Wheeling Waring: Portrait artist of prominent African Americans
Laura Wheeler was an African-American artist and educator, best known for her paintings of prominent African Americans including W.E.B. Du Bois and Marian Anderson. A...
Oliver Wendell Harrington: “America’s Greatest Black Cartoonist”
Oliver Wendell Harrington was a political cartoonist and originator of Dark Laughter and Jive Gray comic strips and has been called the “greatest” African American...
The Art of Barrington Watson: The History Painter
Basil Barrington Watson is Jamaica’s master painter. In 2000 he was awarded a Gold Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica. Barrington Watson was born...
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Neo Expressionist Pop Icon
Jean-Michel Basquiat, known for his raw gestural style of painting with graffiti-like images and scrawled text, was the African American artist who emerged from the...
The Art of Carl Owens
Carl Owens is one of the great African-American artists of Detroit. He is best known as an illustrator, portrait artist and fine arts painter. One...