Alonzo Davis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alonzo Davis
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| Born | February 2, 1942 Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.
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| Died | January 27, 2025 (aged 82) Largo, Maryland, U.S.
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| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Braithwaite (divorced) |
Alonzo Joseph Davis Jr. (born February 2, 1942 – died January 27, 2025) was an important American artist. He was also a teacher and helped start the Brockman Gallery in Los Angeles. This gallery showed art by Black artists. Alonzo Davis worked hard to support Black art and artists. His most famous artwork is the Eye on '84 mural. He painted this mural for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
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Alonzo Davis: Early Life
Alonzo Davis was born on February 2, 1942, in Tuskegee, Alabama. His father was a psychology professor at Tuskegee University. In 1955, Alonzo's family moved to Los Angeles, California. There, he learned about Asian art. He also started practicing Zen meditation.
Art School and New Ideas
Alonzo studied art at Pepperdine University. He noticed that his classes mostly focused on white artists. He wanted to learn more about Black art in America. So, he and his brother Dale, who was also an artist, traveled across the country. They met many other Black artists. This included the "Spiral Group" in Harlem, led by Romare Bearden.
Alonzo Davis later moved to Sacramento in 1987. He lived in Hawaii for a while in 1988. He then moved to Hyattsville, Maryland. Alonzo Davis passed away in a hospital in Largo, Maryland, on January 27, 2025. He was 82 years old.
Brockman Gallery: Supporting Artists
Alonzo and Dale Davis got the idea for an art gallery in 1966. They were driving back from a march in Mississippi. In 1967, they opened the Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park, Los Angeles. They named it "Brockman" after their grandmother.
Famous Artists at Brockman
The Brockman Gallery showed art by many famous artists. These included Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, and Charles White. In 1973, the brothers also started Brockman Productions. This was a non-profit group. It helped support art in the African-American community.
Alonzo Davis as a Teacher
Alonzo Davis taught at Crenshaw High School until 1970. After that, he taught at several other schools. These included Manual Arts High School and UCLA. He also joined a movement called "Art West Associated." This group worked to get Black art shown in big museums in Los Angeles. In 1976, Davis started working full-time at the Brockman Gallery.
Teaching Across the Country
From 1991 to 1992, Alonzo Davis taught at the San Antonio Art Institute. He then became a dean at the Memphis College of Art. He worked there from 1993 to 2002.
Today, there is a special fellowship named after Alonzo Davis. It is at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. This fellowship helps writers, composers, and artists of African or Latino backgrounds.
Alonzo Davis's Art: The Olympic Mural
Alonzo Davis painted a famous mural called Eye on '84. This was one of ten murals made for the 1984 Olympic Murals project in Los Angeles. His mural was on the I-110 freeway. It was across from another mural by Judy Baca.
What the Mural Showed
Davis's mural was painted with acrylic paint on concrete. It showed many symbols that people around the world would recognize. This included the famous Olympic Rings. Over time, the mural got damaged by the weather. It was painted over in 2001.
