Charles Sebree (1914–1985) was an American painter and playwright best known for his involvement in Chicago's black arts scene of the 1930s and 1940s.

Early life and education

Sebree spent his early childhood in White City, located in eastern Kentucky. In 1924, his mother moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, which exposed Sebree to a wide range of artistic influences. One of his drawings as a young boy was bought by the

Renaissance Society The Renaissance Society, founded in 1915, is a leading independent contemporary art museum located on the campus of the University of Chicago, with a focus on the commissioning and production of new works by international artists. The kunsthalle- ...

for twenty-five dollars and ended up being featured on their magazine cover. After attending the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, Sebree remained there and became involved with a group of artists centered in Chicago's South Side.

Career

Chicago's black arts movement came to rival the vibrancy seen in New York's

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

, and Sebree benefited from connections with artists such as

Margaret Taylor-Burroughs Margaret Taylor-Burroughs (November 1, 1915 – November 21, 2010), also known as Margaret Taylor Goss, Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs or Margaret T G Burroughs, was an American Visual arts, visual artist, writer, poet, educator, and arts organiz ...

and Eldzier Cortor, as well as the network of support created through affiliations with such institutions as the South Side Community Arts Center and the Art Institute. Sebree was very interested in the theater, working as a playwright, director, and set designer. His painted portraits tended primarily to feature performers, frequently

harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

s and saltimbanques. These works show a strong Modernist influence, specifically recalling the expressive faces and figures seen in the portraits of

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and Modigliani, while also referencing his interest in

Byzantine icons The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. Between 1936 and 1938, Sebree worked for the New Deal's

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA). In 1942, his career was briefly interrupted when he was drafted into World War II. He was stationed at

Camp Robert Smalls Camp Robert Smalls was a United States Naval training facility, created pursuant to an order signed April 21, 1942, by Frank Knox, then Secretary of the Navy, for the purpose of training African-American seamen at a time when the USN was still ...

, a segregated section of the Great Lakes Naval Training base, north of Chicago. While there, he met the playwright

Owen Dodson Owen Vincent Dodson (November 28, 1914 – June 21, 1983) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright. He was one of the leading African-American poets of his time, associated with the generation of black poets following the Harlem Renaissanc ...

, who would become a close friend and artistic collaborator. Together, they produced several plays at Camp Smalls, including the “Ballad of Dorrie Miller,” which was dedicated to a black naval mess attendant who saved the lives of several of his shipmates at Pearl Harbor. After the war, Sebree moved to New York, where he once again found a community of artists, as he had in Chicago. His circle in New York included artists such as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

and

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the ...

. He was the recipient of a fellowship from the

Julius Rosenwald Fund The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...

in 1945, and went on to co-write the successful 1954 Broadway musical, "Mrs. Patterson," which starred

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

. Sebree moved to Washington, DC in the 1947, where he lived until his death from cancer in 1985.

Works

Plays *''My Mother Came Crying Most Pitifully'' (1949) *''Mrs Patterson'' (1954) *''Dry August'' (1972)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebree, Charles 1914 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights African-American dramatists and playwrights Federal Art Project artists 20th-century African-American painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century African-American writers