I liked the sound of Leroy Johnson’s voice before I got to meet him. It was strong, happy, eager to make my acquaintance, as people of his generation might say. I had only learned of…
Tag: black art
Benjamin Britt was always a mystery to me. He seemed to be on the periphery of my thoughts, never fully formed, almost an illusion. I would hear his name in snatches, but it was hard…
Memories of Augusta Savage in Saugerties
Posted in Art
A few years ago, I went to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY, with some friends. One of those friends had told me about it because she knows I love garlic, and had…
Belated look at sale of Louis Sloan’s art
Posted in Art
Back in April, I wrote about a tug-of-war within the family of the late Philadelphia artist Louis B. Sloan over his artwork. At age 75, the artist died in 2008 on his way out to…
I was going through a list of artworks up for previewing at one of my favorite auction houses recently when I came across the name Frank J. Dillon. I was told that he was an African American artist who…
Pyramid Club’s black arts legacy
Posted in Art, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
I was checking out the upcoming auction at one of my favorite places when I spotted it: A program for the Philadelphia Pyramid Club’s art exhibition from the 1940s. Was it possible? I had wanted…
Motorcycles and art
Posted in Art
My friend Robert bought himself a motorcycle for Christmas. He takes it out as often as he can, mostly on short trips. But he has hooked up with an ad-hoc group of cyclists who just love to…
An art discovery of MC “Five Cent” Jones
Posted in Art
As I strolled through a list of catalog items on the web for a Decorative Arts auction recently, I wandered onto some watercolors that were interesting. The first piece was an African American woman. Next to…