Margo Humphrey

'The Garden' — Celebrated Contemporary African American Artist

1989

Samella Sanders Lewis, 'The House of Shango', lithograph, 1992, edition 60. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '31/60' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on Arches cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches), in excellent condition. Image size 24 x 18 inches (610 x 457 mm); sheet size 30 inches x 22 1/4 inches (762 x 565 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. ABOUT THIS WORK “The title of this piece is an unmistakable harkening to African roots. Shango is a religious practice with origins in Yoruba (Nigerian) belief, deifying a god of thunder by the same name. Shango has been adopted in the Caribbean, most notably in Trinidad and Tobago, a fact that underscores the importance of transnationalism to Samella Lewis’s piece. Her work often grapples with issues of race in the U.S., and The House of Shango is no exception. Through a reliance on the gradual transformation of Shango—one that took place across continents and time—Lewis’s piece forms a powerful link between black Americans and their African and Caribbean counterparts. The figure depicted in the piece appears to emerge, quite literally, from the house of Shango. Given the roots and transformative process of the religion, The House of Shango can draw attention to the historical intersections to which black American culture is indebted.” —Laura Woods, Scripps College, Ruth Chander Williamson Gallery, Collection Highlights, 2018 ABOUT THE ARTIST Samella Lewis’ lifelong career as an artist, art historian, critic, curator, collector, and advocate of African American art has helped empower generations of artists in the United States and worldwide, earning her the designation “the Godmother of African American art.” Born and raised in Jim Crow era New Orleans, Lewis began her art education at Dillard University in 1941, transferring to Hampton University in Virginia, where she earned her B. A. and master's degrees. She completed her master's and a doctorate in art history and cultural anthropology at Ohio State University in 1951, becoming the first female African American to earn a doctorate in fine art and art history. Lewis taught art at Morgan State University while completing her doctorate. She became the first Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Florida A&M University in 1953. That same year Lewis also became the first African American to convene the National Conference of African American artists held at Florida A&M University. She was a professor at the State University of New York, California State University, Long Beach, and at Scripps College in Claremont, California. Lewis co-founded, with Bernie Casey, the Contemporary Crafts Gallery in Los Angeles in 1970. In 1973, she served on the selection committee for the exhibition BLACKS: USA: 1973 held at the New York Cultural Center. Samella Lewis's 1969 catalog 'Black Artists on Art', featured accomplished black artists typically overlooked in mainstream art galleries. She said of the book, "I wanted to make a chronology of African American artists, and artists of African descent, to document our history. The historians weren't doing it. It was really about the movement." From the 1960s through the 1970s, her work, which included lithographs, linocuts, and serigraphs, reflected her concerns with the values of human dignity, democracy, and freedom of expression. Between 1969 and 70, Lewis and E.J. Montgomery were consultants for a groundbreaking exhibition at the Oakland Public L designed to create greater awareness of African American history and art. Lewis was the founder of the International Review of African American Art in 1975. In 1976, she founded the Museum of African-American Art with a group of artistic, academic, business, and community leaders in Los Angeles, California. Lewis, the museum’s senior curator, organized exhibitions and developed new ways of educating the public about African American art. She celebrated African American art as an 'art of experience’ inspired by the artists’ lives. And she espoused the concept of African American art as an 'art of tradition', urging museums to explore the African roots of African American art. In 1984, Lewis produced an extensive monograph on Elizabeth Catlett, her beloved mentor at Dillard University. Lewis has been collecting art since 1942, focusing primarily on the WPA era and work created during the Harlem Renaissance. Pieces from her collection were acquired by the Hampton University Museum in Virginia, the world’s earliest collection of African American fine art...

Mary Van Blarcom, 'China Spring', color serigraph, c. 1945, edition not stated but small. Signed in pencil in the image, lower right. Titled in pencil, bottom left sheet edge. A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on cream laid paper; with full margins (9/16 to 1 5/16 inches), in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 10 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches; sheet size 11 15/16 x 12 5/8 inches. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter, printmaker, and craftsperson, Mary Van Blarcom was born in Newark, New Jersey, and studied at Wellesley College. She was a member of the National Serigraph Society where she served on the board of trustees from 1945 through 1952 and was 1st vice-president from 1949-51. She was also a member of the National Association of Women Artists, the Artists Equity Association, the American Color Print Society, the New Jersey Artists Association (Director), and Artists of Today. Van Blarcom exhibited actively throughout the 1940s at many prominent art organizations including: Montclair Art Museum, 1941-45 and 1947-51 (prize, 1948); Society of Independent Artists, 1942-44; Artists of Today, 1942-46; Elisabeth Ney Museum, 1943; Northwest Printmakers, 1944, 1946-49; Laguna Beach Art Association, 1945-47, 1949; National Association of Women Artists, 1945-50, (prize, 1946); Library of Congress, 1946-47; Museum of Modern Art Traveling Exhibition, 1945-47; Carnegie Institute, 1947; Serigraph Gallery, 1946, 1951 (solo); American Color Print Society, 1947-52; Newark Museum, 1947-48, 1951; California State Library, 1947, 1949; National Serigraph Society, 1949 (prize), 1950 (prize); University of Chile, 1950; New Jersey State Museum, 1950; Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1951; and the Main Gallery, NY, 1952. Van Blarcom’s work is in the collections of the Newark Public Library, U.S. Library of Congress; the American Association of University Women; New York Public Library; Tel-Aviv Museum, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Princeton Print Club...

Camille Billops, 'Mondo Negro III', color etching, 2000, edition 20. Signed, dated, titled, and numbered '7/20' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impre...

Ralph Arnold, 'Cascade', mixed media: acrylic, pencil, conté crayon, marker, oil; 1986-88. Signed 'Arnold' and dated '86-88' in pencil, lower right. A fin...

LEONARD EDMONDSON (1906 – 2001) GARDEN OF EDEN c. 1960 Color intaglio (carborundum?) Signed and titled in pencil. Small edition, these larger prints...

Highly energetic and abstracted garden flowers and the hint of a figure emerge from this abstract expressionist explosion of color and form, by Dana Wegter (American, 20th-21st Century), 2000. Signed and dated "Dana Wegter '00" lower right. Displayed in a bright yellow mat...

"Isabelle's Garden" is from Sandra Jones Campbell's recent Summer collection, a series that displays her unique vision of the world and is informed by her current social observation...

Luis Miguel Valdes (Cuban, 1949) "Garden", 2015 Oil and Acrylic on Canvas 53 × 78 in Unframed Luis Miguel Valdés, Biography Luis Miguel Valdés, a renowned Cuban painter and printma...