User:Sarasays/sandbox/5
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Charles Sebree | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1914 Madisonville, Kentucky |
| Died | 1985 Washington, DC |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Chicago Art Institute and the Chicago School of Design |
Charles Sebree (1914-1985) was an American artist best known for his involvement in Chicago's black arts scene of the 1930s and 1940s.
Sebree spent his early childhood in Kentucky. In 1926, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, which exposed Sebree to a wide range of artistic influences.[1] After attending the Art Institute of Chicago, Sebree remained there and became involved with a group of artists centered in Chicago's South Side. Chicago's black arts movement came to rival the vibrancy seen in Harlem, and Sebree benefited from connections with artists such as Margaret Taylor-Burroughs 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.[2]
Sebree was very interested in the theater, working as a playwright, director, and set designer. His painted portraits tended primarily to feature performers, frequently harlequins and saltimbanques.[3][2] These works show a strong Modernist influence, specifically recalling the expressive faces and figures seen in the portraits of Picasso and Modigliani, while also referencing his interest in Byzantine icons.[3]
Between 1936 and 1938, Sebree worked for the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA). His career was briefly interrupted when he was drafted into World War II. 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 and Billy Strayhorn. Sebree lived his final years in Washington, DC, before dying of cancer in 1985.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Charles Sebree". Essie Green Galleries. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Narratives of African American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection". The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland. 1998. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Head of a Woman, by Charles Sebree". SCAD Museum of Art. Savannah College of Art and Design. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
External links
[edit]- Works by Charles Sebree in the Smithsonian American Art Museum