Summary
Adolphus Ealey (1941–1992) was an American artist, curator, educator, writer, and entrepreneur. He was African-American and a noted Black art authority, and he was the longtime curator of the Barnett–Aden Collection of Black art.[1][2][3]
Adolphus Ealey | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 22, 1941 |
| Died | November 11, 1992 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, curator, educator, writer, entrepreneur, art dealer |
| Spouse(s) | Howard University, Académie de la Grande Chaumière, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Early life and education edit
Adolphus Ealey was born on February 22, 1941, in Atlanta, Georgia.[4] He attended Howard University (B.A. degree 1963) and studied under James V. Herring.[4][1] He received a master's degree (1964) at Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris,[5] and a Ph.D. in art from the University of Wisconsin.[2]
Career edit
"All things are interrelated and nourish one another. All cultures are interwoven."
– Adolphus Ealey (in 1991)[6]
Ealey was a longtime curator of the Barnett–Aden Collection of Black art starting in 1969; the collection was formerly associated with Barnett-Aden Gallery and bequeathed to Ealey by James V. Herring.[7][8] Later the collection was located at the Museum of African American Art in Tampa, Florida (which has since closed).[9][10] He took an anthropological approach to the collection of objects, emphasized culture and organized them around a village concept.[11]
Ealey was a professor at Washington Technical Institute (now University of the District of Columbia) from 1969 to 1971.[1] He also taught art classes at Sharpe Health School in Washington, D.C., a school for children with disabilities, from 1972 to 1975.[1] From 1976 to 1978, Ealey was the first director of the Afro-American Cultural and Historical Museum of Philadelphia (now the African American Museum in Philadelphia).[1]
In 1985, he designed memorabilia for the first national celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, commissioned by the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change; and it was said to have been personally approved by Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr..[12]
He was the president of Heritage Noir Inc. in 1983.[5] Ealey had been friends with artist Alma W. Thomas.[4]
Death and legacy edit
He had AIDS and died of kidney failure on November 11, 1992, at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C..[1] He has artist files at the National Gallery of Art Library;[13] and he is included in the public museum collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art.[14]
Exhibitions edit
- 1972, Reflections: the Afro-American Artist: an Exhibit of Paintings, Sculpture, and Graphics, group exhibition, Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina[15]
- 1973, Exhibition 73 (the D.C. Art Association), group exhibition, Anacostia Museum, and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture[15]
- 1977, Black American Art from the Barnett Aden Collection, group exhibition, Frick Fine Arts Museum at the University of Pittsburgh[15]
- 1979, Reflections of a Southern Heritage: 20th Century Black Artists of the Southeast, group exhibition, Gibbes Art Gallery, Charlestown, South Carolina[15]
Publications edit
- Ealey, Adolphus (Spring 1977). Lewis, Samella (ed.). "The Curator". Black Art: An International Quarterly. 1 (3).
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f "Adolphus Ealey, Authority On Black Art, Dies At 51". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b "Noted Black Art Authority Adolphus Ealey, 51, Dies". Jet (magazine). Johnson Publishing Company. 1992-12-07. p. 54.
- ^ "Inheriting a talent". Tampa Bay Times. 1991-04-07. p. 70. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b c Etinde-Crompton, Charlotte; Crompton, Samuel Willard (2019-12-15). Alma Woodsey Thomas: Painter and Educator. Enslow Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-9785-1469-0.
- ^ a b Who's Who Among Black Americans. Who's Who Among Black Americans, Incorporated, Publishing Company. 1994. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-8103-5461-6.
- ^ Tampa Bay Magazine. Tampa Bay Publications, Inc. August 1991. p. 13.
- ^ "Barnett Aden Gallery, African American Heritage Trail". Cultural Tourism DC. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Peterman, Peggy (1992-12-29). "A bruising year of African-American adversity". Tampa Bay Times. p. 29. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Bush, Teresia (2022). "Barnett-Aden Gallery". Bloomsbury Art Markets. doi:10.5040/9781350924390.2327130. ISBN 9781350924390.
- ^ Ross, Sandy (1991-04-28). "Curator's dedication infuses museum's collection with vitality". The Tampa Tribune. p. 30. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Beurden, Sarah Van (2015-11-25). Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture. Ohio University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-8214-4545-7.
- ^ "Posters, Pins and More to Celebrate King's Day". Jet (magazine). Vol. 68. Johnson Publishing Company. 1985-08-26. p. 19. ISSN 0021-5996.
- ^ "Adolphus Ealey: vertical files". National Gallery of Art Library. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Dr. Adolphus Ealey". Baltimore Museum of Art. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b c d "Ealey, Adolphus". African American Visual Artists Database (AAVAD). Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
Further reading edit
- Spradling, Mary Mace (1980). In Black and White: Afro-Americans in Print. Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Public Library.
- Thomison, Dennis (1991). The Black Artist in America: An Index to Reproductions. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press.
External links edit
- Adolphus Ealey: vertical files at National Gallery of Art Library
- Interview with Adolphus Ealey, 1978 June 30, from Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- The Historical Records of the Barnett-Aden Gallery, from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture