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Artis Lane Mixed Media

Canadian, b. 1927

For work that spans portraiture, oil painting and bronze sculpture, the Canadian artist Artis Lane draws from the spiritual and emotional aspects of human existence. Lane is a trailblazer: She was the first Black woman to be admitted to Cranbrook Academy of Arta legendary institution within art, design and architecture — and her bronze bust of Sojourner Truth was the first statue of an African-American woman in the United States Capitol.

Lane was born in North Buxton, Ontario, in a town predominantly inhabited by the descendants of slaves who arrived in Canada by way of the Underground Railroad. As her artistic career developed, so did her interest in people of African descent as well as her ideas about the physical world and our bodies being vessels, capable of eventually taking on godly characteristics.

“Lane promotes the primacy of corporeal experience with sculptures that speak to Africa as the beginning of human life,” noted the University of Oklahoma’s Journal of Museum Studies in 2008. Her unique approach to depicting the journey between the physical and spiritual worlds has been to work outside the constraints of the traditional bronze finishing process, leaving the ceramic casing, wire and tubing used to cast it intact as part of the finished piece, whereby the wire is symbolic of bondage to the physical form.

Lane attended what was then called the Ontario College of Art (today, it’s the Ontario College of Art and Design University) on the Edith Chapman scholarship before studying painting at Cranbrook. She took an active role in the artistic communities in the various cities she lived in over the years. In New York and Los Angeles, she befriended actors Cary Grant and Diahann Carroll, and in Detroit, she painted commissioned portraits of auto industry executives to pay the bills. She would go on to paint portraits of many esteemed figures such as President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jordan and Aretha Franklin. Today, a sculpture Lane created of Rosa Parks is on display at the National Portrait Gallery.

Lane received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California African American Museum and an honorary degree from her alma mater, Cranbrook Academy of Art.

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Artist: Artis Lane
"Jesse Owens - Long Jump Medalist", Mixed Media on Paper
"Jesse Owens - Long Jump Medalist", Mixed Media on Paper

"Jesse Owens - Long Jump Medalist", Mixed Media on Paper

By Artis Lane

Located in Detroit, MI

This mixed media on paper painting of Jesse Owens is from the seminal artist Artis Lane and is one of the many exquisite pieces done of historical figures ...

Category

Late 20th Century Artis Lane Mixed Media

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

"Ancient Man", Mixed Media on Paper
"Ancient Man", Mixed Media on Paper

"Ancient Man", Mixed Media on Paper

By Artis Lane

Located in Detroit, MI

This mixed media on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model pictures from her long and illustrious career. The subject is an older man, whom is called "Anci...

Category

Late 20th Century Artis Lane Mixed Media

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

"Self Portrait" Frontal Female, Mixed Media on Paper, Subtle Colors
"Self Portrait" Frontal Female, Mixed Media on Paper, Subtle Colors

"Self Portrait" Frontal Female, Mixed Media on Paper, Subtle Colors

By Artis Lane

Located in Detroit, MI

"Self-Portrait" is a stunning mixed media piece showing the vibrancy of the figure through the use of bold lines and placement of the blue and orange colors. The figure appears to be...

Category

1980s Contemporary Artis Lane Mixed Media

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

"Surreal Study" Male and Female Figures on a Branch, Colors, Mixed Media
"Surreal Study" Male and Female Figures on a Branch, Colors, Mixed Media

"Surreal Study" Male and Female Figures on a Branch, Colors, Mixed Media

By Artis Lane

Located in Detroit, MI

"Surreal Study: Male and Female Figures on a Branch" is a complex piece with figures both facing toward and away from the viewer sitting on a branch in a mammoth tree or a fallen tre...

Category

1980s Contemporary Artis Lane Mixed Media

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

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Chola JMB
Chola JMB

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Artis Lane mixed media for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Artis Lane mixed media available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Artis Lane in mixed media, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Artis Lane mixed media, so small editions measuring 27 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of James Verbicky, Ivan Markovic, and Stev'nn Hall.