William T. Williams
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William T. Williams | |
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Born | July 17, 1942 Cross Creek, North Carolina |
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Nationality | American |
Profession | Fine Artist |
Website | Official website |
William T. Williams was born in Cross Creek, North Carolina, United States. He received a BFA degree from Pratt Institute in 1966 and studied at The Skowhegan School of Art. In 1968 he received an MFA degree from Yale University/School of Art and Architecture. He is presently Professor of Art atBrooklyn College, the City University of New York, whose faculty he joined in 1971.
Williams is a recipient of numerous awards including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Awards, and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Award. He is also a recipient of The Studio Museum in Harlem's Artist Award in 1992 and received The James Van Dee Zee Award from the Brandywine Workshop for lifetime achievement in the arts in 2005. Most recently, he was the recipient of the 2006 North Carolina Governors Award for Fine Arts. The highest civilian honor the state can bestow. William's is represented in numerous museum and corporate collections including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, North Carolina Museum of Art, The Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The Menil Collection, Fogg Art Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Library of Congress, Yale University Art Gallery, Chase Manhattan Bank, AT&T, General Mills Corporation, UnitedHealth Group, Southwestern Bell Corporation and Prudential Financial Insurance Company of America.
He has exhibited in over 100 museums and art centers in the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, People's Republic of China and Japan.
Contents |
[edit] Early Childhood
[edit] Born 1942, into the rural south
William T. Williams is a New York painter whose heritable roots in the South have remained a wellspring for his art throughout his career. His early childhood, spent in Spring Lake, North Carolina, provided the atmosphere for the sensible will an artist so often needs in the formative years. The colorful memories of a peaceful and wholesome lifestyle in the rural South followed Williams north. David C. Driskell, "An Unending Visual Odyssey"
[edit] New York: Late 50’s
The family's move to the North had a positive effect on Williams' future when his art talent was recognized by the head of a local community center who gave him a room there to use as a studio. He attended the High School of Industrial Arts in Manhattan (now the High School of Art and Design), which held many of its classes at the Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1962 Williams entered Pratt Institute to study painting. During his junior year there, he won a summer scholarship to The Skowhegan School of Art and also received a National Endowment for the Arts, traveling grant. Before his brief stay was over, he had decided that he would become an artist. Valerie J. Mercer, Behind Closed Doors
[edit] College Years
[edit] First Encounters: The Art World
After completing an M.F.A. degree program in painting at Yale University in 1968, Williams quickly gained attention from the mainstream art world. The Museum of Modern Art acquired his composition "Elbert Jackson L.A.M.F., Part II in 1969, and by 1970 his work was being exhibited at The Foundation Maeght in the south of France, in a room with paintings by some of the superstars of abstract expressionism: Willem De Kooning, Mark Rothko, Clifford Still and Philip Guston. Valerie J. Mercer
[edit] Art School
His formal education at Pratt Institute and Yale University in the 1960s in the visual arts curriculum prepared him well for the creative path his art would take in the next two decades. He moved consummately thereafter to investigate the physical boundaries one finds uncommon to explorations in the science of color, setting for himself the standard of achieving in his work an inherent completeness out of the reach of other painters. David C. Driskell
[edit] The Late 60’s
The late late 60's was a very busy time for William. In 1969 he participated in The Black Artist in America: A Symposium held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY. He also took part in numerous groundbreaking exhibitions includingThe Studio Museum in Harlem's Inaugural Show, X to the Fourth Power and New Acquisitions held at The Museum of Modern Art. In 1970 Williams was also commissioned by the Jewish Museum (New York), and The Menil Collection in Houston, TX.
[edit] Founding The Artist in Residence at SMH
"The trustees of The Studio Museum in Harlem read my proposal, interviewed me and hired me to start an Artist-in-Residence program. That program had its start at the first site of the Museum over the liquor store on Fifth Avenue (2033 Fifth Avenue). It was a loft, a factory going out of business that had a lot of sewing machines in it. Mel Edwards and I physically cleaned that space out for the Artist-in-Residence program. That was the beginning." I wanted to create a context, namely an Artist-in-Residence program, through which money could be funnelled to artists which would allow them to ponder the kinds of issues and questions that come up in a graduate program. Kinshasha Conwill, former director of the museum, says that the program "has become critical to the museum's identity and its contribution to the larger art arena."
[edit] Reese Palley Instalation
Wiliam T. Williams first one-man show at New York's Reese Palley Gallery in 1971 resulted in the sale of every painting. That same year, TheWhitney Museum of American Art exhibited his work twice; collectors such as AT&T and General Mills purchased his art; and his work was featured in both Life Magazine and Time Magazines. Valerie J. Mercer
[edit] The 70's: New Inspiration
[edit] Returning Home
Williams returned home to the dusty unpaved roads of North Carolina for the inspiration of a new palette, one born of the luster and glow of mica, false gold, and fox fire from earth's pulsating cover. Williams' relief from color-field painting was celebrated in the new works completed between 1971-1977, such as Equinox and Indian Summer. In 1975 William also took part in an artist in residence program at Fisk University in Nashville, TN. David C. Driskell
[edit] FESTAC Festival
In 1977, Williams participated in the second World Festival of Black Art and African Culture in Lagos, Nigeria, also known as FESTAC. This festival brought together more than 17,000 artists of African descent from 59 countries. It was the largest cultural event ever held on the African continent.
[edit] The 80’s
[edit] Early Exhibitions
In 1982 Williams was included in Recent Acquisitions of the Schomburg Collection at The Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, NY. In 1984 William took part in a show titled Since the Harlem Renaissance, which traveled to The University of Maryland, Bucknell University and The State University of New York at Old Westbury. It also traveled to The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, NY and The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA.
[edit] 1987: Exhibit at the Smithsonian
In 1987 William received The John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. He also was a member of a show that took place in Tokyo, Japan entitled The Art of Black America in Japan. The international acclaim and fervor didn't stop there William also took part in Contemporary Visual Expressions, a show at The Anacostia Museum/Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
[edit] Espiritu & Materia
William's traveled to Venezuela with painter Jack Whitten and sculptor's, Mel Edwards and Tyrone Mitchell for the opening of their exhibition Espiritu & Materia at The Museum of Visual Arts, Alejandro Otero.
[edit] The 90's
[edit] 1992: Studio Museum in Harlem Artist Award
In 1992 William's was presented The Studio Museum in Harlem Artist's Award for lifetime achievement and his role in creating the artist-in-residence program for the museum.
[edit] Working With Bob Blackburn
Bob Blackburn first invited Williams to make a print at the Printmaking Workshop in 1975. Over the next 22 years, Williams collaborated with Blackburn to produce 19 editions, as well as, a number of unique print projects. Bob's friendship, expertise and advice was key to Williams development in the print medium. His last project at The Printmaking Workshop was in 1997 when he produced a number of monoprints underwritten by art patron, Major Thomas.
[edit] 2000: To Conserve A Legacy
In 2000 Williams took part in an extensive traveling show entitled, To Conserve a Legacy: American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The show organized by The Addison Gallery of American Art at The Philips Academy in Massachusetts and The Studio Museum in Harlem in New York traveled to over 8 major museums including, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Fisk University, Duke University and Hampton Universities Art museums.
[edit] Jazz at Lincoln Center
In 1994 Williams participated in a Jazz at Lincoln Center program titled, Swing Landscapes: Jazz Visualized. The intent of the Jazz Talk program was to explore what it is about jazz that makes its colors, rhythms and characters so attractive to the painter's eye. Williams, along with author, Alfred Appel, Jr. discussed the influence of jazz on modern art. This program was part of a NY citywide celebration honoring the artist Romare Bearden.
[edit] Current Events
[edit] Receives Award for Lifetime Achievement
In 2005, Williams was invited to create a print at The Brandywine Workshop in conjunction with receiving The James Van Der Zee Award for Lifetime Achievement. Between July and late August he made five trips to Philadelphia staying several days at a time. These trips were unusually productive yielding four editions and a number of unique hand-colored prints. The Brandywine Workshop located in Phildalephia was founded in 1972 to promote interest and talent in printmaking while cultivating cultural diversity in the arts.
[edit] Printmaking at Lafyette College
In 2006, Williams was a visiting scholar and artist in residence at Lafayette College's, Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI), which included Williams lecture about his work sponsored by the David L. Sr. and Helen J. Temple Visiting Lecture Series Fund. During this year, William's work was also shown at The Studio Museum in Harlem in Energy and Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction 1964-1980.
[edit] 2006: Receives North Carolina Governors Award
In 2006 William T. Williams received The North Carolina Governors Award for Fine Arts by Governor Mike Easley. This is the highest civilian honor a state can bestow.
[edit] Trivia
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
1. The first African American in the H. W. Janson, History of Art 2. Has exhibited on four continents and over 100 museums worldwide 3. Created The Artists in Residence Program at The Studio Museum in Harlem 4. Participated in the first exhibition of African American art to be exhibition in Japan 5. One of the first African Americans to exhibit in the Republic of China 6. The Director of the Skowhegigan School of Painting and Sculpture
[edit] Selected Paintings
Elbert JacksonL.A.M.F., 1969, Acrylic on canvas, 120" x 120". Collection of the The Museum of Modern Art, New York |
Skowhegan I, 1973, Acrylic on canvas, 84" x 60". Collection of The Wadsworth Atheneum, CT. |
[edit] Awards and grants
- North Carolina Governor's Award for Fine Arts, NC 2006
- James Van Der Zee Award, Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA 2005
- Golden Key National Honor Society, Honorary Member 1998
- Joan Mitchell Foundation, Grant Award 1996
- Mid-Atlantic/NEA Regional Fellowship 1994
- The Studio Museum in Harlem Artist's Award 1992
- John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship 1987
- City University of New York, Faculty Research Award, Painting 1987, 1984, 1973
- Creative Arts Public Service Grant, Painting, New York 1985, 1981
- National Endowment for the Arts, Individual Artist Awa rd, Painting 1970
- Yale University, Grant for Graduate Study, New Haven, CT 1966
- National Endowment for the Arts, Traveling Grant 1965
[edit] References and further reading
This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (January 2008) |
1. Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction 1964-1990 The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. 2006 Kellie Jones and Lowery Stokes Sims ISBN 0-942949-31-5
2. Energy and Abstraction at the Studio Museum in Harlem The New York Times, New York Friday, April 7, 2006 Holland Cotter
3. William T. Williams Homes of Color, January/February 2006 Volume 5 Issue 1 Penny Shaw
4. The Chemistry of Color The Harold A. and Ann R. Sorgenti Collection of Contemporary African- American Art{ Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA ISBN 0-943836-26-3
5. Artist and Influence Hatch Billops Collection, Inc. New York, NY Volume XXIV 2005 Library of Congress: 00-105-283 ISBN 0-9702620-1-9
6. Images of America: African American Voices Selections from the Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Darrell Walker Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AK Library of Congress ISBN 0-9744314-0-0
7. Convergence James E. Lewis Museum of Art Morgan State University, Newark, DE; Library of Congress ISBN 0-9610324-3-x
8. The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection and Plaza Memorials Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York, NY 2002
9. Successions: Prints by African American Artists from the Jean and Robert Steele Collection The Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 2002 Library of Congress 2002101248 ISBN 0-937123-42-0
10. The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby Pomegranate Communications, Inc., San Francisco, CA 2001
11. To Conserve a Legacy: American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts and The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. 1999 Richard Powell and Jock Reynolds
12. Art & Antiques, March 1999 Lynne Konstantin
13. Narratives of African American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection Pomegranate Communications, Inc., San Francisco, CA 1998 ISBN 0-7649-0722-0
14. Collecting African American Art Crown Publishers, Inc, New York 1998 Halima Taha ISBN 0-517-70593-1
15. North Carolina Museum of the Arts: Handbook of the Collections Hudson Hills Press, Inc; New York, NY 1998 ISBN 0-088259-978-X
16. African American Art Oxford History of Art; Oxford/New York 1998 Sharon F. Patton
17. Seeing Jazz: Artists and Writers on Jazz Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition/Chronicle Books Washington, DC 1997
18. Revisiting American Art: Works from the Collections of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY ISBN 9-915-171-45-7 1997
19. American Images: The SBC Collection of Twentieth-Century American Art Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, NY, 1996 ISBN 0-8109-1969-9
20. Twentieth Century African American Art from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Walker University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AK 1996
21. African American Visual Aesthetics - A Post Modernist View Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC Edited by David C. Driskell ISBN 1-56098-605-0 1995
22. African-American Printmaking - 1838 to the Present The Rockland Center of the Arts, West Nyack, NY 1995
23. 25 Years of African-American Art: The Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY 1994
24. Spirit and Chance Metro Times, Detroit, MI July 6-12, 1994, Hobey Echlin
25. Master Colorist Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI Sunday, July 3, 1994, Marsha Miro
26. Improving with Age The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC Sunday, July 18, 1993 Chuck Twardy
27. Getting Personal and Cultural in the Abstract The New York Times, New York Friday, August 28, 1992 Holland Cutter
28. Works on Paper/William T. Willilams The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY 1992 ISBN 0-942949-07-2
29. Fourteen Paintings/William T. Williams The Montclair Museum of Art, Montclair, NJ 1991 ISBN 0-935489-42-1
30. Adding Emotion to Abstract Paintings The New York Times, New York Sunday, November 7, 1991 William Zimmer
31. Behind Closed Doors American Visions Magazine, April 1991, Vol 6 No 2
32. Espiritu & Materia Museo de Artes Visuales Alejandro Otero, Caracas, Venezuela 1991
33. The Search for Freedom-African-American Abstract Painting 1945-1975
34. Kenkeleba House, Inc. New York, NY 1991
35. African American Works on Paper The Cochran Collection, Atlanta, GA 1991
36. The Mirror the Other: The Politics of Esthetics Art Forum, March 1990, XXVIII, No. 7, Lowery Stokes Sims
37. Dedication Exhibition James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Baltimore MD 1990
38. The Smokehouse Painters, 1968-1970 Black American Literature Forum, Fall 1990 Vol 24 No 3 Michael Oren
39. A Force of Repetition New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ 1990 Allison Weld
40. A 'Painterly' Show in Jersey City The New York Times, New York, October 30, 1988 William Zimmer
41. Vivian Browne/William T. Williams Jamaica Arts Center, Jamaica, NY, 1988 Lowery Stokes Sims
42. The Empire State Collection: Art for the Public Harry Abrams, Inc., New York 1987 ISBN 0-8109-0884-0
43. Contemporary Visual Expressions Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 1987 David C. Driskell
44. The History of Art H.W. Janson, Third Edition, Harry Abrams, Inc. 1987 ISBN 0-13-389388X
45. Since the Harlem Renaissance-50 Years of Afro-American Art Center Gallery of Bucknell University, Lewisberg, PA 1985 Library of Congress 85-71056 ISBN 00916279-02-2
46. William T. Williams Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC 1985 Library of Congress 85-061403
47. Art in the World Holt, Reinhart and Winston 1984 ISBN 0-03-061976-9 Stella Pandell Russell
48. East-West Contemporary Art California Afro-American Museum, CA Library of Congress 83-60208
49. The Permanent Collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY 1982 Library of Congress 83-60208
50. Sam Gilliam, Al Loving, William T. Williams Dialogue-An Art Journal, January/February 1995
51. American Paintings at Yale University Yale University Art Gallery New Haven 1982
52. American Art Since 1945 Oxford University Press 1982 Dore Ashton
53. From Explosion to Implosion: The Ten Year Transition of William T. Williams Art Magazine, February 1981 April Kingsley
54. A Serene Indifference Village Voice January 21, 1981 Judith Wilson
55. Mideast Pipeline SoHo Weekly News January 14, 1981 John Perreault
56. Positively Black SoHo Weekly News February 27, 1980 John Perreault
57. William T. Williams University of Wisconsin Publication 1980 Dr. David C. Driskell
58. Singular Work, Double Blind, Triple Threat Village Voice March 3, 1980 Carrie Rickey
59. William T. Williams Miami-Dade Community College Publication November 1977 Dore Ashton
60. Contextures Goode-Bryant and Philips Library of Congress 78-51925
61. Artists Salute Skowhegan Kennedy Galleries, NY Library of Congress 77-89091
62. A Selection of American Art-The Skowhegan School 1946-1976 Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA Library of Congress 76-12154
63. Amistad II: Afro-American Art Fisk University, Nashville, TN David C. Driskell Library of Congress 75-7466
The Afro-American Artist-A Search for Identity Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc. Elsa Honig Fine Library of Congress 73-1235 ISBN 0-03-010746-6
64. Extensions Wadsworth Atheneum 1974 Jacquelyn Day Sewer Library of Congress 73-04026
Conversation with Three Artists Black Orpheus Vol 3 Nos 2&3 1975 Jane Cortez
65. Whitney Museum of American Art: Catalogue of the Colle Whitney Museum of American Art New York 1974 John Baur
66. Problems of Criticism Arts Magazine Vol 46 No 7 Frank Bowling
67. Visiting Artists New York State Council on the Arts, New York, NY 1972 Irving Sandler
68. Painting and Sculpture Today Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN 1972
69. Drawings by New York Artists Utah Museum of Fine Arts 1972 Dore Ashton
70. Deluxe Show Menil Foundation, Rice University, Houston, TX 1972
71. Canvasses Brimming with Color Life Magazine September 1971 Vol 71 No
72. The Structure of Color Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY April 1971
73. William T. Williams, Artist Bay Street Banner, Boston, MA August 20, 1970
74. Two Black Artists Arts Magazine April 1970 Walter Jones
75. Young Abstract Painters; Right On! Arts Magazine February 1970 Dore Ashton
76. Using Walls Jewish Museum Publication 1970
77. Discussion on Black Art-II Arts Magazine 1970 Vol 3 Frank Bowling
78. In the Museums Arts Magazine December 1969-1970 Janet Bloom
79. Critic's Choice 1969-70 New York State Council on the Arts Publication Irving Sandler
80. The Black Artist; The Black Art Community; The White Art World New York Times, New York, NY June 29, 1970 James R. Mellow
81. X to the 4th Power Arts Magazine September 1969
82. A Triumph Rather Than a Threat New York Times, New York, NY August 17, 1969 Peter Schjeldahl
83. The Black Artist in America: A Symposium The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, January 1969 Vol XXVII No 5
84. American Contemporary Art American Embassy, Russia, Museum of Modern Art, NY 1969 Margaret Potter