This week we’re remembering the late Art Historian David C. Driskell, who was pivotal in bringing recognition to African-American art.
A mentor and supporter of generations of Black artists, curators, and scholars, Driskell organised the landmark exhibition ‘Two Centuries of Black American Art’.
“...up until that point, you really do not have an exhibition, which is authored by a Black curator...It just didn’t exist.”
Driskell argued Black art was not something that had just sprung up during the civil rights movement. Instead, it was a tradition with roots that extended back to the very founding of this country.
He wrote five exhibition books on the subject of African American art, co-authored four and published more than 40 catalogues from exhibitions he curated.
Driskell received copious honors and accolades throughout his lifetime, including three Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships, a Harmon Foundation Fellowship and 13 honorary doctoral degrees in art.
In Sam Pollard’s ‘Black Art’, the legacy of the pioneering Art Historian is prominent, and features touching tributes from Black artists influenced and inspired by Driskell.