David Driskell at The Phillips Collection

The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC features two powerful exhibitions of the work of David Driskell and Alma Thomas.

Pt. 1 David Driskell

David Driskell (1931-2020) is widely credited with elevating the contributions of African American artists to a broad American and international audience. He was also a notable artist in his own right.

Born in Eatonton, Georgia, Driskell attended Howard University in Washington, DC, where he changed his major from History to Art History at the encouragement of James A. Porter, a Howard professor who was the foremost African American Art Historian of his time. After completing his studies at Howard, Driskell studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine and earned a MFA from Catholic University. Driskell, the professor, taught at Talladega College, Howard University, Fisk University, and the University of Maryland. In 1976, Driskell curated an exhibition called “Two Centuries of Black American Art” for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibition featured over 200 works from 63 artists, and its popularity led it to travel to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Museum. Many credit this exhibition with cementing the contributions of Black artists in the American Art History Canon.

Driskell’s artwork style was heavily inspired by Cubist, Fauvist, and Collage painters, notably George Braque and Romare Bearden. Two of his favorite themes were pine trees (symbols of fortitude which he fell in love with during his studies in Maine) and African masks (which he explored during multiple trips to Africa).

I was struck by a piece Driskell created following his trip to Benin, called “Self-Portrait as Beni”. The piece explores an alternate reality where Driskell had been born in Benin. Half of the piece is a self-portrait of Driskell in the early 70s, the other half is an ancient Benin hip mask. The back is inscribed with a poem entitled “I Dreamed Again of Benin”.

Visit the Driskell Exhibition, on view through January 9, 2022 at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC: https://www.phillipscollection.org/exhibitions