Jean and Robert Steele spent years searching print workshops for great art by some of the nation’s leading African American artists. This fall, 32 works from their collection will be on display at St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Boyden Gallery beginning Monday, Aug. 29, at 11 a.m. Steele himself will describe the impact of the works at a public talk at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, in the gallery. Boyden Gallery in Montgomery Hall is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.Successions: Prints by African American Artists from the Jean and Robert Steele Collection” was originally organized by the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora and The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland. It was first presented at the university, and since has traveled around the country. Print techniques include etching, monoprint, lithography, linocut and silkscreen. The exhibition is made possible by support from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Consortium for Race, Gender, and Ethnicity, University of Maryland, College Park.
“Seeing the lineage of these artists’ involvement over the years is exciting,” said Driskell, University of Maryland art professor emeritus. “Major names that are guideposts in African American art such as Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Bob Blackburn, Elizabeth Catlett, Robert Colescott, Allan R. Crite, Mel Edwards, Sam Gilliam, Jacob Lawrence, Lois M. Jones, Betye Saar, Lou Stovall, James L. Wells, and William T. Williams, among others, literally provide a wish list that would be the envy of all who see this important exhibition.”
Caption: “Sister!,” a silkscreen by Anita Philyaw, is part of an exhibition at SMCM’s Boyden Gallery Aug. 29-Nov. 16
