David Driskell, The Hibiscus, 2015, hand-colored print 25/35, 7″ x 5″

The Steffen Thomas Museum of Art is pleased to announce a special exhibition “Celebrating Creative Genius: The Art, Life and Legacy of Eatonton, Georgia native David Driskell“. The exhibition opens February 11, 2021 through April 17, 2021, and features original artworks and prints by David Driskell on loan from galleries, private collections and institutions plus photographs and artifacts from the artist’s early life.

The Exhibition will include a special arts education component for students of all grade levels from surrounding counties. Selected works by the students will be on display in the West Gallery of the Museum along with an impressive array of original Driskell collages, prints and paintings.

We invite all to join us in celebrating the life of David Driskell, whose impact extended across the world but whose beginnings were here in Middle Georgia. The exhibition will be available virtually and in person by appointment. Please see the website https://steffenthomas.org for hours, admission fees, and safety protocols. To schedule a visit email info@steffenthomas.org or call 706-342-7557.

Other area institutions honoring Driskell this year include the High Museum of Art and September Gray Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. Please see their websites (high.org and septembergrayart.com) for exhibition dates and hours of operation.

Note: David C. Driskell (1931-2020) was a prolific artist, scholar, curator and Putnam County native. In addition to his own impressive career as a multimedia artist and printmaker, Driskell is revered for his role in uplifting artists of color and developing African-American Art as a distinct field of study. He curated countless exhibitions, authored seven books, and served as a professor of art at multiple colleges and universities until his retirement in 2019. Such was his impact on American Art that he was honored in 2001 with the creation of The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park. The High Museum of Art created the Driskell Prize in 2005 honoring significant contributions to the field of African American Art.

This exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the Brenda and Larry Thompson Collection of African American Art, the David C. Driskell
Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the September Gray Fine Art gallery.