Charles C. Dawson (June 12, 1889 – 1981) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and graphic designer.

Life and education

Dawson was born in Georgia in 1889. He studied art at the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

in Alabama from 1905 to 1907, then moved to New York City to attend the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

, where he was the first black student. Disturbed by the racism he encountered at the Art Students League, Dawson left to attend the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

, having saved money working as a

pullman porter Pullman porters were men hired to work for the railroads as Porter (railroad), porters on sleeping cars. Starting shortly after the American Civil War, George Pullman sought out former slaves to work on his sleeper cars. Their job was to carry ...

and as a waiter in an art and literary club called the

Cliff Dwellers Club The Cliff Dwellers Club is a private civic arts organization in Chicago, Illinois. The Club was founded in 1907 by Chicago author Hamlin Garland as "The Attic Club", On January 18, 1909, the name was formally changed to The Cliff Dwellers. In 190 ...

. There, he is said to have come into contact with members the club including

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, and

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. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Dawson enlisted in the army and was sent to France as one of the Buffalo Soldiers. He served from 1917 to 1919 and returned to Chicago after the war.

Artistic career

Charles C. Dawson wrote an unpublished autobiography titled "Touching the Fringes of Greatness." In this autobiographical work, Dawson discusses his experiences as a student at the Tuskegee Institute, the Art Students League of New York, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as his artistic career and pursuits. Dawson participated in two Works Progress Administration programs. From 1936 to 1941 Dawson was Director of Arts and Crafts and Co-Administrator of the City of Chicago Work and Training Program of the National Youth Administration of Illinois. In this role he designed the layout for the American Negro Exposition at the Chicago Coliseum in 1940, a piece composed of 20 dioramas showcasing African American history. These dioramas are now in the collection of the George Washington Carver Museum at Tuskegee Institute.

The "New Negro" movement in Chicago

The Negro in Art Week Exhibition was an active agent of Chicago's "New Negro" movement.

Alain Locke Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1885 – June 9, 1954) was an American writer, philosopher, and educator. Distinguished in 1907 as the first African American Rhodes Scholar, Locke became known as the philosophical architect—the acknowledged " ...

hoped that the exhibition would showcase a "racial art" that expressed an individual identity for African Americans in both style and subject matter. Charles C. Dawson designed the cover of the 1927 catalog for the Negro in Art Week Exhibition. The cover included a full-length figurative representation of an Egyptian pharaoh as well as a West African sculpture juxtaposed with contemporary male and female figures in formal dress.

Exhibited artwork

In 1927, three paintings by Dawson were included in an exhibition of Modern Paintings and Sculpture hosted by the Chicago Art Institute as part of "The Negro in Art Week" in Chicago. As listed in the show's catalog, the three paintings were ''The Quadroon Madonna,'' ''Brother and Sister'', and ''Searchlights.'' The exhibition ran from November 16 to December 1, 1927. Two commercial designs by Dawson were displayed in a related "Negro in Art Week" exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Applied Arts hosted by the Chicago Women's Club from November 16 to November 23 of that same year. These commercial designs include a design for a poster and a design for an insurance policy heading. In 1940, Dawson exhibited a watercolor painting titled ''The Crisis'' in "The Art of the American Negro (1851 to 1940)," an exhibition held at the Tanner Art Galleries in conjunction with the historic

American Negro Exposition The American Negro Exposition, also known as the Black World's Fair and the Diamond Jubilee Exposition, was a world's fair held in Chicago from July until September in 1940, to celebrate the 75th anniversary (also known as a diamond jubilee) of t ...

in Chicago. That exhibition, which included work by a range of African American artists including

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, and Charles White, was on view from July 4 to September 2, 1940.

Exhibition organizer

Charles C. Dawson worked not only to promote his own artwork but also worked to promote the work of his fellow African American artists by organizing and curating exhibitions of their work. In 1927, Dawson acted as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fine Arts for the Exhibition of Primitive African Sculpture, Modern Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings, Applied Arts and Books. In 1940, he was on the Western Jury of the Jury of Selections, identified as a painter from Chicago, for the Exhibition of the Art of the American Negro at the Tanner Art Galleries in Chicago, Illinois. For the same exhibition, he also served on the Jury on Awards and the National Committee on Art. Dawson also founded the collective the Arts and Letters Society and the Chicago Art League. From 1940 to 1951, Dawson served as the curator of the Museum of Negro Art and Culture at Tuskegee University.

Published artwork

In 1933, Dawson published a children's book that he both wrote and illustrated, titled ''ABC's of Great Negroes.'' The book consists of 26 linoleum prints portraying major figures in black history. Each print is accompanied by a brief text describing major accomplishments and some biographical information on the depicted individual.

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

, Dr. George W. Carver, and Meta Warrick Fuller are three notable African Americans included in the book. Some historical figures include Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu Cheops, Egyptian Princess Nefert, and Empress of Ethiopia Zaudita (Zewditu). Each print included in the text consists of a portrait, the individual's name, a title or accomplishment, and usually the letters "CCD" for "Charles C. Dawson".

Graphic designer

Dawson is known for his illustrated advertisements for beauty schools and products targeted to the black community, such as Annie Turnbo Malone's Poro College and

Valmor Products Valmor Products was a Chicago-based cosmetics and personal care company founded in 1926, targeted at African American consumers. The company was known for its distinctive artwork used in its advertisements. History Valmor was founded in 1926 as Va ...

. He began working for black entrepreneurs when he returned to Chicago after serving in World War I. Dawson's clients also included

Anthony Overton Anthony Overton Jr. (March 18, 1864 – July 2, 1946), was an American banker and manufacturer. He was the first African American to lead a major business conglomerate.Harvard Business School. American Business Leaders of the Twentieth CenturyAnt ...

and

Jesse Binga Jesse Binga (April 10, 1865 – June 13, 1950) was a prominent American businessman who founded the first privately owned African-American bank in Chicago. Binga recalled coming to Chicago in the 1890s with $10 in his pocket. By the 1920s he ...

, the magazine ''Reflexus'' and director

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and c ...

Selected works/images

O Sing a New Song
(lithograph), ca. 1933, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Page from ''ABC's of Great Negroes''
1933, (Dawson Publishers) featuring Booker T. Washington, Art Institute of Chicago
Cover of ''The Negro in Art Week''
1927, November 16–23: Exhibition of Primitive African Sculpture, Modern Paintings, Sculpture and Drawing, Applied Art and Books, Chicago: Chicago Woman's Club (ex. cat.)

Selected exhibitions

* 1927 Exhibition of Primitive African Sculpture, Modern Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings, Applied Arts and Books, Chicago Art Institute and Chicago Women's Club, Chicago * 1940 Exhibition of the Art of the American Negro, Tanner Art Galleries, Chicago

Selected collections

*Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York *DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, Illinois

References

External links

American Institute of Graphic Arts page for Charles C. Dawson

PBS video about Charles C. Dawson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Charles C. African-American artists 1889 births 1981 deaths African-American graphic designers American graphic designers School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Art Students League of New York alumni Tuskegee Institute alumni Buffalo Soldiers