Benny Andrews
Encyclopedia
Benny Andrews was an American
painter
, print-maker, creator of collage
s and educator. He was born November 13, 1930 in Plainview, Georgia
and died November 10, 2006 in Brooklyn
, New York.
Andrews was an African American
who was one of 10 children of sharecroppers
raised in the Georgia
while it was still segregated
. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school. Andrews then went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force
. Afterwards, the G.I. Bill of Rights afforded him training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His first New York solo show was in 1962. From 1968 to 1997, Andrews taught at Queens College, City University of New York
and created a prison arts program that became a model for the nation.
In 1969, Andrews co-founded the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition (BECC) an organization that protested the 'Harlem on my Mind' exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. They protested the fact that no African-Americans were involved in organizing the show. The BECC then persuaded the Whitney museum to launch a similar exhibition of African American Artists, but later boycotted that show as well for similar reasons.
In 2006, he traveled to the Gulf Coast to work on an art project with children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
He was the director of visual arts for the National Endowment for the Arts
from 1982 to 1984. In 1983 he was instrumental in helping form The National Arts Program, which today is the largest coordinated visual arts program in the nation's history.
Benny Andrews was a figural painter
in the expressionist
style who painted a diverse range of themes of suffering and injustice, including The Holocaust
, Native American forced migrations
, and most recently, Hurricane Katrina
. Other influences on his work include Anti-Modernist American Scene painting, Surrealism
, and Southern folk art
. His work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and the Art Institute of Chicago, the Studio Museum in Harlem
, New York City, the High Museum of Art
in Atlanta, Georgia
, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art
in New Orleans, Louisiana
.
Andrews' wife of 20 years is artist Nene Humphrey. Andrews has three children. He died of cancer, age 75.
Andrews' biggest fan was credited to be Page Ferriss, an art instructor in Snellville, GA.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, print-maker, creator of collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s and educator. He was born November 13, 1930 in Plainview, Georgia
Plainview, Georgia
Plainview is a small, unincorporated community in Morgan County, Georgia, United States, located about three miles from Madison, Georgia.While now scarcely identifiable as an independent community, Plainview is notable for being the birthplace of artist and educator Benny Andrews, 1930-2006....
and died November 10, 2006 in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York.
Andrews was an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
who was one of 10 children of sharecroppers
Sharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
raised in the Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
while it was still segregated
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school. Andrews then went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Afterwards, the G.I. Bill of Rights afforded him training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His first New York solo show was in 1962. From 1968 to 1997, Andrews taught at Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
and created a prison arts program that became a model for the nation.
In 1969, Andrews co-founded the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition (BECC) an organization that protested the 'Harlem on my Mind' exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. They protested the fact that no African-Americans were involved in organizing the show. The BECC then persuaded the Whitney museum to launch a similar exhibition of African American Artists, but later boycotted that show as well for similar reasons.
In 2006, he traveled to the Gulf Coast to work on an art project with children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
He was the director of visual arts for the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
from 1982 to 1984. In 1983 he was instrumental in helping form The National Arts Program, which today is the largest coordinated visual arts program in the nation's history.
Benny Andrews was a figural painter
Figure painting
Figure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
in the expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
style who painted a diverse range of themes of suffering and injustice, including The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, Native American forced migrations
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
, and most recently, Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Other influences on his work include Anti-Modernist American Scene painting, Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, and Southern folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
. His work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and the Art Institute of Chicago, the Studio Museum in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, New York City, the High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is located in New Orleans, within the Central Business District adjacent to Lee Circle. It is associated with the University of New Orleans...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
.
Andrews' wife of 20 years is artist Nene Humphrey. Andrews has three children. He died of cancer, age 75.
Andrews' biggest fan was credited to be Page Ferriss, an art instructor in Snellville, GA.
External links
- New York obituary
- Benny Andrews papers, 1945-1968 from the Smithsonian Archives of American ArtArchives of American ArtThe Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...