James A. Porter
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James Amos Porter (December 22, 1905 - February 28, 1970) was a pioneer in establishing the field of African American art history. He was instrumental as the first scholar to provide a systematic, critical analysis of African American artists and their works of art. An artist himself, he provided a unique and critical approach to the analysis of the work. Dedicated to educating and writing about African American artists, Porter set the foundation for artists and art historians to probe and unearth the necessary skills essential to their artistic and scholarly endeavors. The canon is borne from Porter’s determination to document and view African American art in the context of American art.
[edit] Biography
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Porter had a long, illustrious career in the visual arts, as an artist and historian. Under the direction and encouragement from James V. Herring, head of the Art Department at Howard University, Porter studied painting, drawing, and art history. Upon graduating with a bachelor of science in 1927, he accepted a position as instructor of painting and drawing at Howard. Being an educator did not keep Porter from honing his artistic skill and creating art. Throughout his academic professional career, Porter painted and exhibited nationally and internationally. This dedication was acknowledged in 1933 when he received the Schomburg Portrait Prize, from the Harmon Foundation, for the painting entitled, Woman Holding a Jug (1930). Porter was highly regarded for his finely rendered portraits, as exemplified in his award.
While Porter never stopped nurturing his artistic ability, he also did not stop educating himself. After he completed undergraduate work, Porter attended the Art Institute in New York. He also studied in Paris at the Institute of Art and Archeology at the Sorbonne, in which he received a Certificat de Presence in 1935. When Porter returned to the United States, he pursued a master of arts in art history from New York University in 1937. Porter’s thesis, which would later become the foundation for the book Modern Negro Art, focused on African American artists and artisans.
During his educational pursuits, Porter met Dorothy Burnett, a librarian at the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library, where he researched neglected black artists. On December 27, 1929, Porter and Burnett were married. They had one daughter, Constance Porter. This union would prove to be important, not only personally but also professionally. Dorothy worked with Porter, as she provided bibliographic information critical to his investigations. Dorothy Porter, along with James A. Porter, had a rich relationship with Howard University. She was the director of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center where she catalogued information about African American artists.
Porter’s interest in nearly forgotten and often ignored artists of African descent came from reading a brief article on African American landscape artist Robert Scott Duncanson. Due to the brevity of the account, Porter was inspired to research Duncanson and other artists of African descent. Were it not for this article, Modern Negro Art may have not come to be.
Modern Negro Art, published in 1943, was the first comprehensive study of African American art. It is in this examination that Porter placed African American artists within the framework of American art. He was the first to recognize and document the significant contributions these artists made to the history of American art. With Porter’s systematic approach, Modern Negro Art became and still is the grounding for African American art history and for texts to come later.
Porter included art of Cuba, Haiti, and Africa in his investigations of artists of the Diaspora. He was able to visit Haiti and Cuba on a Rockefeller Foundation grant. The influential wonders of Cuba spurned the painting, The Cuban Bus. His thorough research on these countries and the West African continent sparked the creation of a Latin American art course and an African Art and Architecture course at Howard.
Porter, a devout educator, taught at Howard for more than forty years, heading the Art Department and the Art Gallery. Because of his dedication to the teaching profession, the National Gallery of Art selected him as on the best art teachers in the nation. An honor he received with 24 others, he was presented the award by Lady Bird Johnson in 1965. This recognition is a testament to his devotion and passion for educating young people.
[edit] Legacy
Porter, "father of African American art history," left a cultural and educational legacy to those passionately involved in the area of African American art. The drive to explore and firmly document artists of the Diaspora continues today. Porter’s artistic and historical work provides a solid foundation in which current and future scholars can build upon. Many scholars owe Porter for the inspiration to probe the depths of African American visual culture and attest to its significance to American culture. Jeffreen Hayes, Scholar
Howard University has hosted an academic colloquium named in Porter's honor every year since 1990. The Colloquium annually draws leading and emerging scholars in the field of study he helped establish. Presenters have included Porter students such as David C. Driskell and Tritobia Hayes Benjamin, along with important scholars and artists among them Lowery Stokes Sims, Richard A. Long, Richard Powell, Michael Harris, Judith Wilson, Samella Lewis, and Deborah Willis.
