BENJAMIN BRITT
Art and Design, where he is now professor emeritus.
American, 1923–1996
His work is included in the collections of the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Cleveland
Benjamin Britt exhibited his work in Philadelphia for
Museum of Art, the Georgia Museum of Art, the
almost fifty years. In 1947 he enrolled at the Hussian
La Salle University Art Museum, the Philadelphia
School of Art, a school for commercial artists, leaving
Museum of Art, and Woodmere Art Museum, among
in 1950 to attend the Philadelphia Museum School
other public and private collections.
The Odd Sister, 1973 Mixed media, 39 1/4 x 14 1/8 in.
New York City. Britt’s artistic style varied throughout his career, beginning with Cubism, moving toward
Self-Portrait, 1985 Lithograph, 25 1/2 x 19 in. Woodmere Art Museum: Museum purchase, 2015
Woodmere Art Museum: Museum purchase, 2015
was equally diverse, ranging from bold African
SAMUEL J. BROWN
themes to children, landscapes, and portraiture. Britt
American, 1907–1994
was also an instructor and mentor throughout his career, teaching at the Wharton Centre, the YMCA,
Samuel J. Brown moved to Philadelphia in 1917 and
and St. John’s Place Family Center.
studied at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts) and
Untitled (Abstract), c. 1950s Oil on paper on board, 20 x 16 in.
the University of Pennsylvania. In 1933 he was hired
Woodmere Art Museum: Museum purchase, 2015
create art for the city. Brown’s politically charged
by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to watercolors were initially controversial, but were championed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who
MOE BROOKER
praised the artist’s depictions of racial inequality,
American, born 1940
boldness, and emotion. After leaving the WPA in 1935 he worked in various Philadelphia schools, eventually
Moe Brooker depicts joy in both realist and abstract
settling at Murrell Dobbins CTE High School, where
works. He received his BFA and MFA from Temple
he taught commercial art for twenty-five years. In
University’s Tyler School of Art and received his
1986 the Brandywine Workshop and Archives and
certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the
others created a scholarship in his name at the
Fine Arts (PAFA), which led to his membership in
University of the Arts to honor his many years of
the artist collective Recherché. Graffiti influenced
teaching.
his style of abstraction that contains bold colors
African American day school faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Art and has served as chair of
Abstract, c. 1942 Carbograph, 9 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration, New Deal Art Project: On deposit with Print and Picture Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia
the Foundation Department at Parsons School of Design, professor at PAFA, and professor and chair of the Foundation Department at Moore College of
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WOODMERE ART MUSEUM
BARBARA BULLOCK American, born 1938 Barbara Bullock has been an active member of the
surrealist representation. His choice of subject matter
part of his career teaching. He became the first
Selma Burke, born in North Carolina, came to Philadelphia as a young woman to work as a registered nurse prior to becoming a sculptor. She attended the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of
Just That, 1977 Mixed media collage, 40 x 26 in.
surrealism, minimalism, and then returning to
and free forms. Brooker has also spent a large
American, 1900–1995
Collection of Sherry L. Howard
of Art (now the University of the Arts). From 1952 to 1953 he took courses at the Art Students League in
SELMA BURKE
Urlene, Age Nine, 1956 Watercolor on paper, 13 x 9 1/2 in. Woodmere Art Museum: Museum purchase, 2004
Philadelphia art community since attending classes at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial from 1956 to 1959 and the Hussian School of Art from 1963 to 1966. In 1971 Bullock became director of the art department at the Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center; from 1977 to 1979 she worked for the Visual Artist in Public Schools Program organized by the Brandywine Workshop and Archives; and in 1988 she became an associate artist at Prints in Progress. She has also participated in residencies at more than two hundred public schools and African American institutions throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Bullock is still exhibiting and engaging with her community. Her work can be found in many public collections, including the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, New Jersey; the
Medicine) and moved to New York City to pursue her lingering passion for art. There she was influenced and intrigued by the avant-garde ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. Burke trained in Europe and at Columbia University, receiving her MFA in 1941 and teaching sculpture at the Harlem Community Art Center while she studied. Four years later she completed the relief of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that served as the basis for his profile on the dime. Burke continued to carve figures in stone throughout her life. She also established art schools in New York City and Pittsburgh. Her work is included in the collections of the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, among others. Jim, 1935 Plaster, 13 1/2 x 8 x 9 1/2 in. Art & Artifacts Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit; PAFA; and Woodmere Art Museum. Her public art commissions include the Philadelphia International Airport and the Forty-Sixth Street SEPTA El station. Dark Gods, 1982 Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 72 in. Collection of the artist
DONALD E. CAMP American, born 1940 Donald E. Camp employs nineteenth-century non-silver development processes modified with nature-based emulsions to create raw, painterly photographs of the human face. From 1972 to 1980 he worked as a photojournalist for the Philadelphia Bulletin and joined the faculty at Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, in 2000, where he remains
WE SPEAK: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s–1970s
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