I love talking about the artists featured in my blog “Auction Finds” and now in my new book “ART WITH HEART.” I have a passion for them, their art and their stories that I share…
Watch a video from my recent book signing
Posted in Art
Tag: African American artists
The ‘blossoming’ of artist Tom McKinney
Posted in Art
I became acquainted with the works of artist Tom McKinney when I first started buying art from a framer before I discovered auctions. I bought a print awash in dark tones titled “Lazy Afternoon,” of…
It’s been more than a month since I self-published my book “ART WITH HEART: How I Built a Sweet Collection by Buying Cheap at Auction.” The book tells the story of how I amassed a…
Artist Ann Tanksley – ‘My voice is in my painting’
Posted in African American women, Art, and Black history
As a child, Gertrude Ann Graves had difficulty expressing herself. She stuttered. She wasn’t as lovely as her sister, whom relatives gushed over. She was a quiet girl who retreated to an apple tree on…
There is something familiar about the people in the artwork of Tom McKinney. The two elderly men pontificating on a stoop could be your uncles. The little girl with bold expressive eyes could be your…
Augusta Savage is one of those great unknown artists. That’s not surprising given that she was both black and female. The art world – heck, the world on a whole – has never fully valued…
Norman Lewis is much like many other African American artists of his generation. Since their skins were brown, these artists were ignored by the so-called art world, lost and unrecognized. That is changing now –…
When I arrived at the Woodmere Art Museum exhibit in Philadelphia, I had one thing in mind: I wanted to see where the museum had hung the two paintings I had loaned for the exhibit. Two…
Photos of Victorian blacks & Maya Angelou art auction
Posted in Art, Black history, and Photos
“This looks interesting,” my auction buddy Janet wrote in the email. The first words that caught my eye in the story she had sent were “Victorian Era Blacks” and “Rare photos of 19th-century blacks.” I…
How to get more African American artists on Wikipedia
Posted in Art, Black history, and history
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…