Sandra Bridges (1951-)
A former school teacher, Sandra Bridges was born, raised and currently lives in Chicago. In 1974, she graduated from Southern Illinois University after earning a bachelor’s in art education. In 1977, she graduated from Roosevelt University with a master’s in education. She taught in the Chicago school system for 35 years.
It was not until 2011 that she decided to pursue being an artist. Bridges views her role as an artist as a visual storyteller, painting the true historical grounded stories depicting African Americans and their truth. Since then, Bridges’s work as been exhibited throughout the Midwest, including the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, the Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton College, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and, in 2018, Sandra Bridges curated the exhibition “Made In America” at the Renaissance Court, Chicago Cultural Center.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Simmie Knox (1935-)
The first African-American artist to create an official U.S. presidential portrait, Simmie Knox (b 1935) is one of America’s noted portrait painters. On June 14, 2004, the official portraits of President Bill Clinton was debuted. Knox was also the first African-American artist to be commissioned to paint an official portrait of a Supreme Court Justice-Thurgood Marshall.
Born in Aliceville, Alabama, Knox began painting after being hit in the eye with a baseball in 1948. He attended a Catholic school and one of his teachers recommended that he do something else while recuperating from his eye injury, hence, he started painting. The nuns noticed his talent and since the school lacked an art teacher, they took Knox to a local artist to study. He later received a BFA at Tyler School of Art at Temple University (and in 1972, he received his MFA there). He graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Since then, he has painted numerous notable figures such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Muhammad Ali Bishop John T. Walker, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Aaron, Oprah Winfrey, Alex Haley, and more.
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Emma Amos (1937-2020)
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Emma Amos (1937-2020) became known for her creation of boldly colorful and innovative works that explore the complexities of race and gender that is woven throughout America’s social, cultural and political landscape. An educator, activist and pioneer, Emma Amos whose career spanned more than five decades, was the first and only female member of the group Spiral. She was also the youngest member of the group. Spiral was a collective of 15 artists and was formed in 1963 by Romare Bearden, Charles Alston, Norman Lewis, and Hale Woodruff, following the March on Washington for Jobs.
Like other black and women artists of her time, she struggled to find gallery representation early on in her career. During most of her lifetime, few of her paintings entered museum collections. Now her works are in several museum collections, including the collections of the National Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Museum of Modern Art.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Kerry James Marshall (1955-)
One of the most influential and important painters living today, Kerry James Marshall’s narrative figurative paintings reflect the importance of black identity and help combat the Eurocentric pushed notion that beauty is synonymous with whiteness. The color black which he uses to paint the skin tones of black people is an important aspect to convey his message of beauty, power and self-determination of black people.
An artist for more four decades, Marshall has won numerous awards for his work, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997 and, in 2016, the Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal for outstanding achievement in creative and performing arts by the University of Chicago.
Marshall’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally including the 1997 Whitney Biennial, the 2003 Venice Biennale, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. His work can be found in the collections of such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Kevin Sampson (1954-)
Artist Kevin Sampson (b 1954) is a retired police officer. His father is civil rights leader Stephen Sampson, which had a huge influence on him and his artistic vision, which is tied to social activism. The New Jersey based artist creates sculptures from discarded found objects that serve as memorials for various people who have died. He is also a painter and a muralist. In 2021, Sampson appeared in animated form in an episode of the PBS’s children’s television show “Arthur.”
Sampson’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the John Michael Kohler Art Center, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Cavin-Morris, American Folk Art Museum and Rutgers University.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
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