Evangeline Montgomery
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Evangeline Juliet "EJ" Montgomery (born May 2, 1930, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
) is an American artist. Known primarily for her metal work, she has also worked as a
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...
,
lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...
and
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
. She received the
Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award The Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award was established under the presidency of Lee Ann Miller (1978–80). Joan Mondale, artist and wife of vice-president Walter Mondale, helped to secure approval for a national award honoring women ...
in 1999. Art historian Floyd Coleman has said she "is an important figure in American art. She has a long career of participating and assuming leadership in progressive causes that promoted the arts and the development of community." He describes her as a politically active artist, arts administrator and activist.


Early life

Born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Montgomery was the daughter of Oliver Thompson, a
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister, and Carmelite Thompson, a homemaker. She discovered her artistic talents and love of painting early, after receiving an oil painting set at age 14. After graduating from Seward Park High School, Montgomery worked painting faces on dolls and religious statues. Montgomery moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 1955 with her husband, where she worked for Thomas Usher, an African American jewelry designer. She received her B.F.A. from the
California College of Arts and Crafts The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a Private university, private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened ...
in 1969, where she specialized in metallurgy. After graduating, she worked as an independent curator and consultant from 1967 until 1979. She was a "Black Art" consultant for Rainbow Sign, an active black cultural center in Berkeley, California.


Career

Working as a curator Montgomery was an arts advocate, fighting for greater representation of African American artists. Appointed as an Ethnic Art Consultant at the
Oakland Museum Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, Montgomery successfully organized eight exhibitions of established and emerging Black artists, including a 1971 retrospective of African American sculptor Sargent Johnson (1887-1967) and a 1970 exhibition on California Black Craftsmen that featured nineteen artists including Eileen Abdulrashid, Gloria R. Bohanon, Sheryle Butler, Hubert Collins, Dale Brockman Davis, Ibibio Fundi, Manuel Gomez, Vernita Henderson, Ernest Leroy Herbert, Ben James, Bob Jefferson, Doyle Lane, William Maxwell, Evangeline Montgomery, John Outterbridge, Donald R. Stinson, Carole Ward, Curtis Tann, and Harry S. Richardson. Montgomery had discovered a “trove of untouched documents” on Johnson, an artist who was active during the
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 ...
. The retrospective helped to establish Johnson's legacy in African American art. In 1980 Montgomery moved to
Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
to work as community affairs director for WHMM-TV. In 1983, Montgomery started working for the US State Department's Arts America Program. Under the Arts America Program, Montgomery fostered successful fine art programs both in the United States and internationally. As a curator, Montgomery organized more than 200 exhibitions. In 2005, Blacks in Government (BIG) started the Evangeline J. Montgomery Scholarship Fund which has given out more than $40,000 in scholarships.


Art

As an artist, Montgomery has worked with a variety of mediums. Her worked metal ancestral boxes are made of sterling silver and incorporate materials such as semi-precious stones and found objects. Montgomery has said these boxes are meant "to hold something precious" and reflect her explorations of the role of memory and memorials in human history. One of her first boxes, “Ancestor Box 1: Justice for Angela” was made in 1971 in response to the trial of political activist
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...
, it incorporates the Ashanti symbol for justice. Another major work, "Red, Black and Green Ancestral Box - Garvey Box" (1973), is cast in sterling silver with enamel in red, black, and green to evoke the memory of
Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...
. A diagnosis of
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
has made it difficult for Montgomery to keep working with metal, leading her to focus on printmaking. Montgomery describes her artistic process and inspiration, “My visual ideas are expressed abstractly by creating geometrical compositions with overlays of textured forms. In this process, new color configurations emerge. My inspiration for color development has always been interpreting the transparencies found in nature—its nuances and richness of surfaces, textures, and brilliant color whether in plants, water, stone, and incredible variation of life forms.” Montgomery has exhibited her work in various solo and group shows in museums and galleries across the United States, including Delaware, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, Louisiana, Florida, and New York. Many of her works are part of such private collections and permanent museum collections as the Paul Jones Collection of the University of Delaware,
Oakland Museum of California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, The Diane Whitfield-Locke and Carnell Locke Collection, the Los Angeles Board of Education,
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...
, the Ruth Chandler Collection of California, and
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
. She lives in
Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
.


References


Further reading


Evangeline J. Montgomery papers, 1929-2019

National Museum of Women in the Arts blog : Artist Spotlight : Evangeline J. Montgomery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Evangeline American multimedia artists 1930 births Living people African-American contemporary artists American contemporary artists African-American women artists American women printmakers 20th-century American printmakers 21st-century American printmakers 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Washington, D.C. African-American artisans 20th-century American artisans 20th-century American sculptors American art curators American women curators California College of the Arts alumni Seward Park High School alumni African-American sculptors African-American printmakers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists 21st-century American sculptors