This list of African-American visual artists is a list that includes dates of birth and death of historically recognized

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

ists known for the creation of artworks that are primarily

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (th ...

in nature, including traditional media such as

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

, and printmaking, as well as more recent genres, including

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

body art Body art is art made on, with, or consisting of, the human body. Body art covers a wide spectrum including tattoos, body piercings, scarification, and body painting. Body art may include performance art, body art is likewise utilized for investi ...

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...

, and

digital art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various name ...

. The entries are in alphabetical order by surname.

Artists

Edward Mitchell Bannister's painting 'Driving Home the Cows'

A–B

* Panteha Abareshi (born 1999), multidisciplinary artist * Nina Chanel Abney (born 1982), painter * Blanch Ackers (1914–2003), painter *

Terry Adkins Terry Roger Adkins (May 9, 1953 – February 8, 2014) was an American artist. He was Professor of Fine Arts in the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Early life Adkins was born in ...

(1953–2014), artist * Mequitta Ahuja (born 1976), painter, installation artist * Larry D. Alexander (born 1953), painter * Laylah Ali (born 1968), painter * Jules T. Allen (born 1947), photographer * Tina Allen (1949–2008), sculptor * Steve R. Allen (born 1954), painter *

Charles Alston Charles Henry Alston (November 28, 1907 – April 27, 1977) was an American painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist and teacher who lived and worked in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Alston was active in the Harlem Renaissance; A ...

(1907–1977), painter * Amalia Amaki (born 1959), artist * Emma Amos (1938–2020), painter *

Benny Andrews Benny Andrews (November 13, 1930 – November 10, 2006) was an African-American artist, activist and educator. Born in Plainview, Georgia, Andrews earned a BFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1958, and soon after m ...

(1930–2006), painter * Edgar Arceneaux (born 1972), drawing artist * Nellie Ashford (born c. 1943), folk artist * James Atkins (b. 1941), painter * Roland Ayers (1932–2014), printmaker * Radcliffe Bailey (born 1968) collage, sculpture *

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wor ...

(born 1965), cartoonist *

Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's ''Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wit ...

(1921–1959), comic book artist * James Presley Ball (1825–1904), photographer * Alvin Baltrop (1948–2004), photographer * Henry Bannarn (1910–1965), painter * Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828–1901), painter *

Ernie Barnes Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr. (July 15, 1938 – April 27, 2009) was an American artist, well known for his unique style of elongated characters and movement. He was also a professional football player, actor and author. Early life Childhood E ...

(1938–2009), neo-Mannerist artist *

Richmond Barthé James Richmond Barthé, also known as Richmond Barthé (January 28, 1901 – March 5, 1989) was an African Americans, African-American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Barthé is best known for his portrayal of black subjects. The ...

(1901–1989), sculptor * Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), painter * C. M. Battey (1873–1927), photographer *

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York City a ...

(1911–1988), painter * Arthello Beck (1941–2004), painter * Arthur P. Bedou (1882–1966), photographer *

Darrin Bell Darrin Bell (born January 27, 1975) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator known for the syndicated comic strips '' Candorville'' and '' Rudy Park''. He is a syndicated editorial cartoonist with King Fea ...

(born 1975), cartoonist * Mary A. Bell (1873–1941) *

Dawoud Bey Dawoud Bey (born David Edward Smikle; November 25, 1953) is an American photographer and educator known for his large-scale art photography and street photography portraits, including American adolescents in relation to their community, and oth ...

(born 1953), photographer *

Sharif Bey Sharif Bey (born 1974, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is an African American artist, ceramicist and professor. He produces both functional pottery and ceramic and mixed- media sculpture, using a variety of forms and textures. His body of work r ...

(born 1974), ceramist * John T. Biggers (1924–2001), muralist * Sanford Biggers (born 1970), interdisciplinary *

Gene Bilbrew Eugene "Gene" Bilbrew (June 29, 1923 – May 1974) was an African-American vocal group singer, cartoonist, and "bizarre art" pioneer. As noted in the biography, ''GENE BILBREW REVEALED: The Unsung Legacy of a Fetish Art Pioneer'', he was "the firs ...

(1923–1974), cartoonist and fetish artist *

Camille Billops Camille Josephine Billops (August 12, 1933 – June 1, 2019) was an African-American sculptor, filmmaker, archivist, printmaker, and educator. Early life and education Billops was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents Alma Gilmore, origin ...

(1933–2019), filmmaker, sculptor, painter, printmaker * McArthur Binion (born 1946), painter * Robert Blackburn (1920–2003) master printmaker, lithographer, and educator. * Thomas Blackshear (born 1955) * Betty Blayton (1937–2016), painter, printmaker *

Chakaia Booker Chakaia Booker (born 1953 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American sculptor known for creating monumental, abstract works for both the gallery and outdoor public spaces. Booker’s works are contained in more than 40 public collections and have been ...

(born 1953), sculptor * Edythe Boone (born 1938), muralist *

Charles Boyce Charles Boyce (born 1949 in Olive Branch, Mississippi), is an American cartoonist known for his syndicated comic panel '' Compu-toon''. Boyce is also known for creating the KeyPad Kid, a cartoon character used in public affairs awareness programs ...

(born 1949), cartoonist * Tina Williams Brewer, fiber artist * Michael Bramwell (born 1953), conceptual artist * James Brantley (b. 1945), painter *

Mark Bradford Mark Bradford (born November 20, 1961) is an American visual artist. Born in Los Angeles, Bradford studied at the California Institute of the Arts. Recognized for his collaged painting works, which have been shown internationally, his practice al ...

(born 1961) * Elenora "Rukiya" Brown, doll creator * Elmer Brown (1909–1971) * Frank J. Brown (1956–2020), sculptor *

Frederick J. Brown Frederick J. Brown (February 6, 1945 – May 5, 2012) was a New York City based visual artist originally from Chicago. His style ranges from abstract expressionism to figurative. His art work was influenced by historical, religious, narrative a ...

(1945–2012), painter * Larry Poncho Brown (born 1962) * Manuelita Brown, sculptor * Robert Brown (c. 1936 – 2007), cartoonist *

Beverly Buchanan Beverly Buchanan (October 8, 1940 – July 4, 2015) was an African-American artist whose works include painting, sculpture, video, and land art. Buchanan is noted for her exploration of Southern vernacular architecture through her art. Earl ...

(1940–2015), painter, sculptor * Selma Burke (1900–1995), sculptor * Calvin Burnett (1921–2007), book illustrator * Pauline Powell Burns (1872–1912), painter * John Bush (?–1754), powder horn carver *

Bisa Butler Bisa Butler (born Mailissa Yamba Butler in 1973) is an American fiber artist who has created a new genre of quilting that has transformed the medium. Although quilting has long been considered a craft, her interdisciplinary methods -- which crea ...

(born 1973), quilter * Robert Butler (1943–2014), painter

C–D

* Frank Calloway (1915–2014) * E. Simms Campbell (1906–1971), cartoonist * Allen 'Big Al' Carter (1947–2008) *

Fred Carter Fredrick James Carter (born February 14, 1945), nicknamed "Mad Dog" or "Doggy", is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons (1969– 77) for the Balti ...

(born 1938), cartoonist *

Bernie Casey Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet and professional American football player. Early life Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated ...

(1939–2017), painter *

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African American sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in the ...

(1915–2012), sculptor and printmaker * Nick Cave (born 1959), performance artist * Michael Ray Charles (born 1967), painter *

Barbara Chase-Riboud Barbara Chase-Riboud (born June 26, 1939) is an American Visual arts, visual artist and sculptor, bestselling novelist, and award-winning poet. After becoming established as a sculptor and poet, Chase-Riboud gained widespread recognition as an ...

(born 1936), sculptor * Jamour Chames (born 1989), painter * Don Hogan Charles (1938–2017), photographer *

Caitlin Cherry Caitlin Cherry (born 1987) is an African-American painter, sculptor, and educator. Early life and education Caitlin Cherry was born in 1987 in Chicago, Illinois. Cherry received her MFA degree from Columbia University in 2012; and her BFA degr ...

(born 1987), painter and sculptor * Claude Clark (1915–2001), painter and printmaker * Edward Clark (1926–2019), painter * Sonya Clark (born 1967), textile and multimedia artist * Willie Cole (born 1955), painter *

Robert Colescott Robert H. Colescott (August 26, 1925 – June 4, 2009) was an American painter. He is known for satirical genre and crowd subjects, often conveying his exuberant, comical, or bitter reflections on being African American. He studied with Fernand L ...

(1925–2009), painter * Eldzier Cortor (1916–2015), artist and printmaker * Pamela Council (born 1986), multidisciplinary artist, sculptor * Ernest Crichlow (1914–2005), social realist artist *

Allan Crite Allan Rohan Crite (March 20, 1910 – September 6, 2007) was a Boston-based African American artist. He won several honors, such as the 350th Harvard University Anniversary Medal. Biography Crite was born in North Plainfield, New Jersey, ...

(1910–2007), painter * Njideka Akunyili Crosby (born 1983), painter * Emilio Cruz (1938–2004), painter * Frank E. Cummings III (born 1938), woodworker * Michael Cummings (born 1945), textile artist * Ulysses Davis (1913–1990), sculptor * Bing Davis (born 1937), potter and graphic artist * Charles C. Dawson (1889–1981) illustrator, painter, and printmaker *

Roy DeCarava Roy Rudolph DeCarava (December 9, 1919 – October 27, 2009) was an American artist. DeCarava received early critical acclaim for his photography, initially engaging and imaging the lives of African Americans and jazz musicians in the commun ...

(1919–2009), photographer * Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), painter *

Joseph Delaney Joseph Henry Delaney (25 July 1945 – 16 August 2022) was an English author, known for his dark fantasy series ''Spook's''. He started his career as a teacher and wrote science fiction and fantasy novels for adults under the pseudonym J. K. H ...

(1904–1991) * Xiomara De Oliver (born 1967), Canadian-born American painter. * Woody De Othello (born 1991), ceramicist, painter *

Louis Delsarte Louis Jessup Delsarte III (September 1, 1944 – May 2, 2020) was an African-American artist known for what has sometimes been called his "illusionistic" style. He was a painter, muralist, printmaker, and illustrator. When Delsarte was growing u ...

(1944–2020), artist * Joseph Clinton Devillis (1878–1912), painter * Thornton Dial (1928–2016) * Terry Dixon (born 1969), painter and multimedia artist * Jeff Donaldson (1932–2004), painter and critic * Aaron Douglas (1899–1979), painter *

Emory Douglas Emory Douglas (born May 24, 1943) is an American graphic artist. He was a member of the Black Panther Party from 1967 until the Party disbanded in the 1980s. As a r''evolutionary artist'' and the ''Minister of Culture'' for the Black Panther Pa ...

(born 1943), Black Panther artist * John E. Dowell Jr. (born 1941), printmaker, etcher, lithographer, and painter *

David Driskell David C. Driskell (June 7, 1931 – April 1, 2020) was an American artist, scholar and curator; recognized for his work in establishing African-American Art as a distinct field of study. In his lifetime, Driskell was cited as one of the world� ...

(1931–2020), artist and scholar * Robert Seldon Duncanson (1821–1872),

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area ...

Edward Dwight Edward Joseph (Ed) Dwight Jr. (born September 9, 1933) is an American sculptor, author, and former test pilot. He is the first African American to have entered the Air Force training program from which NASA selected astronauts. He was controve ...

(born 1933) sculptor, painter, author

E–H

* Walter Edmonds (1938– 2011), muralist * William Edmondson (1874–1951), folk art sculptor * Allan L. Edmunds (born 1949), printmaker * Mel Edwards (born 1937), sculptor * Janiva Ellis (born 1987), painter * Walter Ellison (1899–1977), painter * Minnie Evans (1892–1987), folk artist *

Lola Flash Lola Flash (born 1959) is an American photographer whose work has often focused on social, LGBT and feminist issues. An active participant in ACT UP during the time of the AIDS epidemic in New York City, Flash was notably featured in the 1989 "Ki ...

(born 1959), photographer * LaToya Ruby Frazier (born 1982), photographer *

Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller ( ; born Meta Vaux Warrick; June 9, 1877 – March 18, 1968) was an African-American artist who celebrated Afrocentric themes. At the fore of the Harlem Renaissance, Warrick was known for being a poet, painter, theater ...

(1877–1968), artist *

Ellen Gallagher Ellen Gallagher (born December 16, 1965) is an American artist. Her work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is held in the permanent collections of many major museums. Her media include painting, works on paper, film and ...

(born 1965) * Reginald Gammon (1921-2005), painter, printmaker, activist * Melvino Garretti (born 1946) *

Theaster Gates Theaster Gates (born August 28, 1973) is an American social practice installation artist and a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he still lives and works. Gates' wo ...

(born 1973), sculptor, ceramicist, and performance artist * Reginald K (Kevin) Gee (born 1964), painter *

Herbert Gentry Herbert Alexander Gentry (July 17, 1919 – September 8, 2003) was an African-American Expressionist painter who lived and worked in Paris, France (1946–70; 1976–80), Copenhagen, Denmark (1958–63), in the Swedish cities of Gothenburg (196 ...

(1919–2003), painter * Wilda Gerideau-Squires (born 1946), photographer * Robert A. Gilbert (c. 1870 – 1942), nature photographer * Leah Gilliam (born 1967), media artist and filmmaker *

Sam Gilliam Sam Gilliam ( ; November 30, 1933 – June 25, 2022) was an American color field painter and lyrical abstractionist artist. Gilliam was associated with the Washington Color School, a group of Washington, D.C.-area artists that developed a form ...

(1933–2022), painter * Russell T. Gordon (1936–2013), printmaker *

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

(1935–1999), comic book artist * Lonnie Graham, photographer and installation artist *

Deborah Grant Deborah Grant (born Deborah Jane Snelling; 22 February 1947) is an English actress. Between 1981 and 1991, she played Deborah Bergerac in the BBC television detective series '' Bergerac''. Since 2007, she has appeared in the sitcom ''Not Going ...

(born 1968), painter * Todd Gray (born 1954), photographer, installation and performance artist * Leamon Green (born 1959) * Renee Green (born 1959), installation artist *

Mario Gully Mario Gully – also known professionally as O.M.G. – is an American comic book artist, who created the comic book series ''Ant''. Ant was first picked up by Arcana Studios and later moved to Image Comics where it would deal with more adul ...

, comic book artist * Tyree Guyton (born 1955) * Ed Hamilton (born 1947), sculptor * Patrick Earl Hammie (born 1981), painter *

David Hammons David Hammons (born July 24, 1943) is an American artist, best known for his works in and around New York City and Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life David Hammons was born in 1943 in Springfield, Illinois, the youngest of ten ...

(born 1943), artist *

Trenton Doyle Hancock Trenton Doyle Hancock (born 1974) is an American artist working with prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. Through his work, Hancock mainly aims to tell the story of the Mounds, mystical creatures that are part of the artist's world. ...

(born 1974) * Austin Hansen (1910–1996), photographer * John Wesley Hardrick (1891–1948), painter * Edwin Harleston (1882–1931), painter *

Elise Forrest Harleston Elise Forrest Harleston (February 8, 1891- 1970) is known as South Carolina’s first female African-American photographer. She was also one of the first Black female photographers in the United States. Elise Beatrice Forrest was born in Charle ...

(1891–1970), photographer * Jerry Harris (1945–2016), sculptor * John T. Harris (1908-1972), painter, printmaker, educator *

Kira Lynn Harris Kira Lynn Harris (born 1963) is an African-American mixed-media artist who currently lives and teaches in New York City. Life Kira Lynn Harris was born in 1963 in Los Angeles, California. Harris received her BA in Studio Art from the University ...

(born 1963), multidisciplinary * Lawrence Harris (born 1937), painter * Ilana Harris-Babou (born 1991), sculptor and installation artist * Marren Hassenger (born 1947), sculptor, installation, performance * Palmer Hayden (1893–1973), painter * Donté K. Hayes (b. 1975), ceramicist * Barkley Hendricks (1945–2017), painter * Nestor Hernández (1961–2006), photographer *

George Herriman George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...

(1880–1944), cartoonist *

LaToya M. Hobbs LaToya M. Hobbs is an American painter and printmaker best known for her large-scale portraits of black women. Hobbs moved to Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland later in her life where she works as a professor at the Maryland Institute College of ...

(born 1988) printmaker, painter, mixed media artist * Alvin Hollingsworth (1928–2000), illustrator, painter * Humbert Howard (1905 or 1915-1990), painter, ceramicist * William Howard (active 19th century), American woodworker and craftsman * Bryce Hudson (born 1979), painter, sculptor * Julien Hudson (1811–1844), painter, sculptor *

David Huffman David Oliver Huffman (May 10, 1945 – February 27, 1985) was an American actor and producer. Personal life Huffman was born on May 10, 1945, in Berwyn, Illinois, to Clarence and Opal Huffman (née Dippel). Huffman married casting director P ...

(born 1963), painter *

Edward Ellis Hughes Edward Ellis Hughes (1940-2017) was an American painter. He was born in Philadelphia in 1940. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Cheyney University of Pennsylvania where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. ...

(1940-2017), painter * Richard Hunt (born 1935), sculptor * Clementine Hunter (1886/7–1988), folk artist

J–O

* Wadsworth Jarrell (born 1929), painter, sculptor * Oliver Lee Jackson (born 1935), painter, sculptor, printmaker, educator * Tomashi Jackson (born 1980), multimedia artist, painter, videographer, textile-maker and sculptor * Steffani Jemison (born 1981), performance artist, video artist * Wilmer Angier Jennings (1910–1990), printmaker, painter, jeweler * Annette P. Jimerson (born 1966), painter * Joshua Johnson (c. 1763 – c. 1824), portrait painter and folk artist * LeRoy Johnson (born 1937), multidisciplinary artist * Malvin Gray Johnson (1896–1934), painter * Martina Johnson-Allen (born 1947), painter, sculptor, and printmaker, educator *

Rashid Johnson Rashid Johnson (born 1977) is an American artist who produces conceptual post-black art. Johnson first received critical attention in 2001 at the age of 24, when his work was included in '' Freestyle'' (2001) curated by Thelma Golden at the ...

(born 1977), conceptual artist *

Sargent Johnson Sargent Claude Johnson (October 7, 1888 – October 10, 1967) was one of the first African-American artists working in California to achieve a national reputation.

(1888–1967), sculptor * William H. Johnson (1902–1970) * Calvin B. Jones (1934–2010), painter, muralist * Ida E. Jones, painter * Jennie C. Jones (born 1968), multidisciplinary *

Lois Mailou Jones Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998) was an artist and educator. Her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum o ...

(1905–1998), painter * Lawrence A. Jones (1910–1996), artist, teacher * Samuel Levi Jones (born 1978), painter, assemblage artist *

Seitu Jones Seitu Jones (born 1951, Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a multi-disciplinary artist and community organizer known for his large-scale public artworks and environmental design. Working both independently and in collaboration with other artists, Jones h ...

(born 1951), multidisciplinary, sculptor * Eddie Jack Jordan (1925–1999), artist, teacher * Ronald Joseph (1910–1992), artist, teacher, and printmaker *

Titus Kaphar Titus Kaphar is an American contemporary painter whose work reconfigures and regenerates art history to include the African-American subject. His paintings are held in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art G ...

(born 1976), painter * Richard Gordon Kendall (1933–2008), Texas-based

outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrate ...

ist * Autumn Knight (born 1980), interdisciplinary artist working with performance,

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...

, and

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

Gwendolyn Knight Gwendolyn Clarine Knight (May 26, 1913 – February 18, 2005) was an American artist who was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, in the West Indies. Knight painted throughout her life but did not start seriously exhibiting her work until the 1970s. He ...

(1914–2005), artist *

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", although by his own ...

(1917–2000), painter *

Deana Lawson Deana Lawson (1979) is an American artist, educator, and photographer based in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. Her work is primarily concerned with intimacy, family, spirituality, sexuality, and Black aesthetics. Lawson has been praised for her abi ...

(born 1979), photographer * Carolyn Lazard (born 1987), conceptual artist *

Hughie Lee-Smith Hughie Lee-Smith (September 20, 1915 – February 23, 1999) was an American artist and teacher whose surreal paintings often featured distant figures under vast skies, and desolate urban settings. Life and career Lee-Smith was born in Eustis, ...

(1915–1999), artist * Simone Leigh (born 1967), sculpture, ceramics * Edmonia Lewis (c. 1843 – 1879), artist * Nate Lewis (born 1985), visual artist * Norman Lewis (1909–1979), painter * Joe Louis Light (1934–2005), painter and sculptor *

Glenn Ligon Glenn Ligon (born 1960, pronounced Lie-gōne) is an American conceptual artist whose work explores race, language, desire, sexuality, and identity.Meyer, Richard. "Glenn Ligon", in George E. Haggerty and Bonnie Zimmerman (eds), ''Gay Histories a ...

(born 1960), painter * James Little (born 1952), painter, curator * Willie Little (born 1961), multimedia artist, painter, sculptor, author * Llanakila, artist, painter, digital illustrator, and digital artist * Edward L. Loper, Sr. (1916–2011), painter *

Whitfield Lovell Whitfield Lovell (born October 2, 1959) is a contemporary African-American artist who is known primarily for his drawings of African-American individuals from the first half of the 20th century. Lovell creates these drawings in pencil, oil stick, ...

(born 1960), artist * Alvin D. Loving (1935–2005), artist * Eric N. Mack (born 1987), painter, multi-media installation artist, and sculptor *

Gwendolyn Ann Magee Gwendolyn (Gwen) Ann Magee (August 31, 1943 – April 27, 2011) was an African-American fiber artist. Learning to quilt in the middle of her life, Magee quickly became known in the world of fiber art for her abstract and narrative quilts depicting ...

(1943–2011), artist, quilter * Clarence Major (born 1936), painter *

Ajuan Mance Ajuan Maria Mance is an American visual artist, author, editor, and a Professor of Ethnic Studies and English at Mills College in Oakland, California. She created the portrait series 1001 Black Men'' Early life and education Mance was born in D ...

, visual artist, professor *

Kerry James Marshall Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1955) is an American artist and professor, known for his paintings of Black figures. He previously taught painting at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2017, Marshall ...

(born 1955), painter * Eugene J. Martin (1938–2005), painter * Louise Martin (1911–1995), photographer * Richard Mayhew (born 1934), Afro-Native American, landscape painter * Valerie Maynard (born 1937), sculptor, printmaker, painter * Ealy Mays (born 1959), painter *

William McBride (artist) William Thacker McBride Jr. (September 27, 1912- August 11, 2000) was an African-American artist, designer and collector. McBride began his career in the 1930s in the circles of black art collectives and artistic opportunities afforded by the Works ...

(1912–2000), artist, designer and collector * Howard McCalebb (born 1947), artist *

Corky McCoy Cortez "Corky" McCoy is an American illustrator from Los Angeles. He is known for his cartoon designs of urban African-Americans on Miles Davis album covers. Work for Miles Davis Information on McCoy's life before meeting Miles Davis is scarce. He ...

, illustrator * Charles McGee, (1924–2021) painter * Charles McGill (1964–2017), artist, educator * Julie Mehretu (born 1970), painter, printmaker * Troy Michie (born 1985), collage artist, painter, interdisciplinary installation artist, and sculptor *

Nicole Miller Nicole Miller is an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Miller attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Apparel Design. She studied for a year at L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture ParisienneBal ...

(born 1982), video artist *

Joe Minter Joe Minter (born March 28, 1943) is an American sculptor based in Birmingham, Alabama. His ''African Village in America'', on the southwest edge of Birmingham, is an ever-evolving art environment populated by sculptures he makes from scrap metal ...

(born 1943) sculptor, creator of African Village in America *

Dean Mitchell Dean Mitchell (born 1957) is an American figurative artist who works primarily in watercolor and oil paint. His subjects, derived largely from African American culture, have been cited for their emotional depth, avoidance of facile sentimentality ...

(born 1957), painter * Scipio Moorhead (active 1770s), painter *

Barbara Tyson Mosley Barbara Tyson Mosley (born 1950) is an American artist, known for her Abstract art, abstract landscape paintings, mix media artwork, photography, and fiber art. She is active in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky and within the African Am ...

(born 1950), abstract painter *

Archibald Motley Archibald John Motley, Jr. (October 7, 1891 – January 16, 1981), was an American visual artist. He studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1910s, graduating in 1918. Motley is most famous for his colorful chroni ...

(1891–1981), painter * Zora J. Murff (born 1987), photographer *

Wangechi Mutu Wangechi Mutu (born 1972) is a Kenyan-born American visual artist, known primarily for her painting, sculpture, film, and performance work.Gus Nall (1919–1995), painter *

Senga Nengudi Senga Nengudi (née Sue Irons; born September 18, 1943) is an African Americans, African-American visual artist and curator. She is best known for her abstract sculptures that combine found objects and choreographed performance. She is part of a ...

(born 1943), sculptor, performance artist * Harold Newton (1934–1994), artist *

Lorraine O'Grady Lorraine O'Grady (born September 21, 1934) is an American artist, writer, translator, and critic. Working in conceptual art and performance art that integrates photo and video installation, she explores the cultural construction of identity – pa ...

(born 1934), conceptual artist * Turtel Onli (born 1952), cartoonist * Jackie Ormes (1911–1985), cartoonist * John Outterbridge (1933–2020), assemblage artist * Joe Overstreet (1933–2019), artist

P–S

* Jennifer Packer (born 1985), painter *

Gordon Parks Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, composer, author, poet, and film director, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particula ...

(1912–2006), photographer, director * Cecelia Pedescleaux (born 1945), quilter * Janet Taylor Pickett (born 1948), mixed media artist * Delilah Pierce (1904–1992), artist * Earle M. Pilgrim (1923–1976), artist *

Howardena Pindell Howardena Pindell (born April 14, 1943) is an American artist, curator, and educator. She is known as a painter and mixed media artist, her work explores texture, color, structures, and the process of making art; it is often political, addressing ...

(born 1943), painter * Jerry Pinkney (1939–2021), illustrator *

Adrian Piper Adrian Margaret Smith Piper (born September 20, 1948) is an American conceptual artist and Kantian philosopher. Her work addresses how and why those involved in more than one discipline may experience professional ostracism, otherness, racial ...

(born 1948), conceptual artist * Rose Piper (1917–2005), painter and textile designer *

Horace Pippin Horace Pippin (February 22, 1888 – July 6, 1946) was a self-taught American artist who painted a range of themes, including scenes inspired by his service in World War I, landscapes, portraits, and biblical subjects. Some of his best-known work ...

(1888–1946), painter * P. H. Polk (1898–1984), photographer * Stephanie Pogue (1944–2002), printmaker * Carl Robert Pope (born 1961), photographer * William Pope.L (born 1955) conceptual artist *

Charles Ethan Porter Charles Ethan Porter (1847 – March 6, 1923) was an American painter who specialized in still life painting. A student at the National Academy of Design in New York City, he was one of the first African Americans to exhibit there. He was the on ...

(1847/49–1923) painter *

Harriet Powers Harriet Powers (October 29, 1837 – January 1, 1910) was an American folk artist and quilter. Born into slavery in rural northeast Georgia, she married young and had a large family. After the American Civil War and emancipation, she and her hu ...

(1837–1910), folk artist * Walter Price (artist) (born 1989), painter * Martin Puryear (born 1941), sculptor * Mavis Pusey (1928–2019), abstract painter *

Bob Ragland Bob Ragland (December 11, 1938 – April 10, 2021) was an artist and teacher based in Denver, Colorado. He is best known for his oil paintings and his found object sculptures, as well as his practical "Non-Starving Artist" philosophy. The Bob Rag ...

(1938–2021), painter and sculptor * Patrick H. Reason (1816–1898) * Earle Wilton Richardson (1912–1935), artist * Taft Richardson Jr. (1943–2008), folk artist * Faith Ringgold (born 1930), painter *

Haywood Rivers Haywood "Bill" Rivers (May 8, 1922 – December 27, 2001) was an African American contemporary artist and gallerist. Biography Haywood Rivers was born in Morven, North Carolina on May 8, 1922. He attended classes the Art Students League of New Y ...

(1922–2001), painter * Amber Robles-Gordon, installation artist * Arthur Rose Sr. (1921–1995), multidisciplinary * Bayeté Ross Smith (born 1976), photographer * Alison Saar (born 1956), artist * Betye Saar (born 1926), artist *

Synthia Saint James Synthia Saint James (born February 11, 1949) is an American visual artist, author, keynote speaker, educator and actor in the 70s. She is best known for designing the original cover art of the hardcover edition of Terry McMillan's book ''Waiting t ...

(born 1949) painter * Charles L. Sallée Jr. (1923–2006), painter * Reginald Sanders (1921–2001), visual artist * Raymond Saunders (born 1934), painter * Augusta Savage (1892–1962), sculptor * Dread Scott (born 1965), performance, photography, installation, screen-printing and video *

John T. Scott John Tarrell Scott (June 30, 1940 – September 1, 2007) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, collagist, and MacArthur Fellow. The works of Scott meld abstraction with contemporary techniques infused with references to traditional Af ...

(1940–2007), artist * Joyce J. Scott (born 1948), sculptor * Lorenzo Scott (born 1934), painter * William Edouard Scott (1884–1964), painter *

Charles Searles Charles Robert Searles (July 11, 1937 – November 27, 2004) was an African American artist born in Philadelphia in 1937. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was active from the 1960s until he died in 2004 from complications fr ...

(1937-2004), painter, sculptor * Charles Sebree (1914–1985), painter * Thomas Sills (1914–2000), painter * Gary Simmons (born 1964), artist *

Lorna Simpson Lorna Simpson (born August 13, 1960) is an American photographer and multimedia artist. She came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s with artworks such as ''Guarded Conditions'' and ''Square Deal''. Simpson is most well-known for her work in c ...

(born 1960), artist * Merton Simpson (1928–2013), painter * William Simpson (1818–1872), portrait painter * Ferrari Sheppard (born 1983), painter * Amy Sherald (born 1973), painter * Carroll Sockwell (1943–1992), abstract painter * Jeff Sonhouse (born 1968), painter * Cauleen Smith (born 1967), filmmaker * Leslie Smith III (born 1985), painter * Vincent D. Smith (1929–2003), painter and printmaker * William E. Smith (1913–1997), painter and printmaker * Gilda Snowden (1954–2014) * Mitchell Squire (born 1958), American installation artist, sculptor and performance artist * Raymond Steth (1916–1997) *

Renee Stout Renee Stout (born 1958) is an American sculptor and contemporary artist known for assemblage (art), assemblage artworks dealing with her personal history and African-American heritage. Born in Kansas, raised in Pittsburgh, living in Washington, D ...

(born 1958), artist * Thelma Johnson Streat (1911–1959) American painter, dancer, educator * Martine Syms (born 1988), artist

T–Z

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in Fren ...

(1859–1937), artist * Ron Tarver (born 1957), photographer, artist, and educator * Margaret Taylor-Burroughs (1915–2010) *

Alma Thomas Alma Woodsey Thomas (September 22, 1891 – February 24, 1978) was an African-American artist and teacher who lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and is now recognized as a major American painter of the 20th century. Thomas is best known for t ...

(1891–1978), painter * Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976), photographer *

Mickalene Thomas Mickalene Thomas (born January 28, 1971) is a contemporary African-American visual artist best known as a painter of complex works using rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel.

(born 1971), painter and installation artist * Bob Thompson (1937–1966), painter * Mildred Thompson (1935–2003), abstract painter, printmaker and sculptor *

Dox Thrash Dox Thrash (1893–1965) was an African-American artist who was famed as a skilled draftsman, master printmaker, and painter and as the co-inventor of the Carborundum printmaking process.Donnelly, Michell"The Art of Dox Thrash" The Encyclopedia ...

(1892–1962), printmaker, sculptor * Bill Traylor (1856–1949) * Henry Taylor (born 1958), painter * Yvonne Edwards Tucker (born 1941), potter * Adejoke Tugbiyele (born 1977), sculptor, multidisciplinary artist *

Morrie Turner Morris Nolton Turner (December 11, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American cartoonist, creator of the strip ''Wee Pals'', the first American syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters. Biography Turner was raised in Oakland, Ca ...

(1923–2014), cartoonist *

James Van Der Zee James Augustus Van Der Zee (June 29, 1886 – May 15, 1983) was an American photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Aside from the artistic merits of his work, Van Der Ze ...

(1886–1983), photographer *

Kara Walker Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best ...

(born 1969), artist * William Walker (1927–2011), Chicago muralist * Eugene Warburg, (1825–1859), sculptor *

Laura Wheeler Waring Laura Wheeler Waring (May 16, 1887 – February 3, 1948) was an American artist and educator, best known for her paintings of prominent African Americans that she made during the Harlem Renaissance. She taught art for more than 30 years at Ch ...

(1887–1948), painter * E. M. Washington (born 1962), printmaker and counterfeiter * Cullen Washington, Jr. (born 1972) abstract painter. * James W. Washington, Jr. (1908–2000), painter and sculptor * Howard N. Watson (1929–2022), watercolor painter * Richard J. Watson (B. 1946), painter, printmaker * Lewis Watts *

Carrie Mae Weems Carrie Mae Weems (born April 20, 1953) is an American artist working in text, fabric, audio, digital images and installation video, and is best known for her photography. She achieved prominence through her early 1990s photographic project ''Th ...

(born 1953), photographer * Pheoris West (1950–2021) * Charles Wilbert White (1918–1979), muralist * Fo Wilson, Interdisciplinary artist and designer * Jack Whitten (1939–2018), painter *

Kehinde Wiley Kehinde Wiley (born February 28, 1977) he returned to Nigeria, leaving Freddie to raise the couple's six children. 3/sup> Wiley has said that his family survived on welfare checks and the limited income earned by his mother's 'thrift store' – ...

(born 1977), painter * Gerald Williams (artist) (born 1941), painter * William T. Williams (born 1942), painter * Deborah Willis (born 1948), photographer *

Ellis Wilson Ellis Wilson (20 April 1899 – 2 January 1977) was an African-American artist associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Biography Early life Wilson was born in 1899 in Mayfield, Kentucky. His parents were Frank and Minnie Wilson. Frank Wilson ...

(1899–1977), painter * Fred Wilson (born 1954), conceptual artist *

John Woodrow Wilson John Woodrow Wilson (1922–2015) was an American lithographer, sculptor, painter, muralist, and art teacher whose art was driven by the political climate of his time. Wilson was best known for his works portraying themes of social justice and ...

(1922–2015), sculptor * Beulah Woodard (1895–1955), sculptor *

Hale Woodruff Hale Aspacio Woodruff (August 26, 1900 – September 6, 1980) was an American artist known for his murals, paintings, and prints. Early life, family and education Woodruff was born in Cairo, Illinois, in on August 26, 1900. He grew up in a black ...

(1900–1980), painter *

Richard Wyatt, Jr. Richard Wyatt Jr. (born 1955) is a contemporary muralist best known for his public art in and around the city of Los Angeles. His murals can be found at the Watts Towers, the Capitol Records Building, White Memorial Hospital, the Ontario Airport, ...

(born 1955), painter, muralist * Richard Yarde (1939–2011), watercolorist *

Joseph Yoakum Joseph Elmer Yoakum (c. February 22, 1891 – December 25, 1972) was an American self-taught painter. He was of African-American and possibly of Native American–descent, and was known for his landscape paintings in the outsider art-style. He ...

(1890–1972), self-taught landscape artist * Kenneth Victor Young (1933–2017), painter, designer, educator * Purvis Young (1943–2010), artist

Artist groups

* The Highwaymen * AfriCOBRA * Where We At * Spiral (arts alliance)

References

{{reflist, refs= Listed in th
Chronological listing of African-American artists
at

ArtCyclopedia Artcyclopedia is an online database of museum-quality fine art founded by Canadian John Malyon. Information The Artcyclopedia only deals with art that can be viewed online, and indexes 2,300 art sites (from museums and galleries), with links to a ...

See the entry in Macklin, A. D., ''A Biographical History of African-American Artists''. The Edwin Mellen Press; 2001. {{ISBN, 0-7734-7676-8 David Leeming, ''Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney'', Oxford University Press; 1998. {{ISBN, 0-19-509784-X * African-American visual artists African-American visual artists

Visual artists The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Lists of artists lists

Artists

A–B

C–D

E–H

J–O

P–S

T–Z

Artist groups

See also

References