Barkley L. Hendricks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barkley L. Hendricks
|
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Barkley Leonnard Hendricks
April 16, 1945 |
| Died | April 18, 2017 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Portraiture |
| Spouse(s) |
Susan Weig
(m. 1983) |
Barkley L. Hendricks (born April 16, 1945 – died April 18, 2017) was an important American painter. He was known for his amazing portraits of Black Americans and his unique style of conceptualism. Even though he worked with many different art forms, like photography and landscape painting, his most famous works are his life-sized oil paintings of Black people.
Early Life and Education
Barkley Leonnard Hendricks was born on April 16, 1945, in Tioga, a neighborhood in North Philadelphia. He was the oldest child of Ruby Powell Hendricks and Barkley Herbert Hendricks. His parents had moved to Philadelphia from Halifax County, Virginia during the Great Migration. This was a time when many African Americans moved from the rural Southern United States to cities in the North.
Hendricks went to Simon Gratz High School and finished in 1963. He then studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). After graduating from PAFA in 1967, he joined the New Jersey National Guard. He also worked as an arts and crafts teacher for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. In 1970, he started attending Yale University, where he earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in 1972. At Yale, he learned from famous artists and photographers.
Art Career and Style
From 1972 until he retired in 2010, Hendricks was a Professor of Studio Art at Connecticut College. He taught many subjects, including drawing, painting, and photography.
In the mid-1960s, Hendricks traveled around Europe. He was very impressed by the portrait paintings of artists like van Dyck and Velázquez. However, he noticed that Black people were missing from the art he saw in museums and churches in Britain, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. This made him feel that something was missing.
As the Black Power movement grew, Hendricks decided to fill this gap in art. He started painting life-sized portraits of his friends, family, and even strangers he met. His goal was to show the pride and strength of Black Americans. He often painted his subjects against simple, single-color backgrounds, making them stand out.
Hendricks' art is special because it combines American realism (showing things as they truly are) with post-modernism (a style that questions traditional ideas). His paintings showed everyday Black people, not just celebrities or protestors. He even included himself in some of his works.
In 1969, he painted Lawdy Mama. This portrait shows a young woman (his second cousin) with a modern afro hairstyle. She is surrounded by gold leaf, like a Byzantine religious painting. Hendricks said his portraits were about the people he knew, and they became important because of the times they were created.
In the 1970s, he created many portraits of young Black men. These paintings showed their confidence and cool style, often against simple backgrounds. One of his most famous portraits, What’s Going On (1974), was named after Marvin Gaye's popular song.
Hendricks' work was shown in major museums and galleries. In 1977, his art was featured in an exhibition called “Four Young Realists” in New York City. A well-known art critic, Hilton Kramer, praised Hendricks' work, calling him "brilliantly endowed." Another important self-portrait from 1977, Slick, shows Hendricks wearing a kufi cap, which is a symbol of African American identity, and a white suit.
Hendricks' paintings are part of many important museum collections. These include the National Gallery of Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Tate Modern.
From 1984 to 2002, Hendricks stopped painting portraits. He focused on other types of art, like landscape painting and photography. He also took photos of jazz musicians, such as Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon.
In 1995, his work was a highlight of the Black Male exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. This show explored the idea of Black masculinity. Hendricks' paintings, Icon for My Man Superman, 1969, and Brilliantly Endowed (Self portrait), 1977, have been very influential. Other famous artists, like Fahamu Pecou and Rashid Johnson, have created their own art inspired by Hendricks' work.
Hendricks returned to painting portraits in 2002. One of his first new portraits was of the Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. In 2008, a big show of his work called Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool traveled to several museums, including the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. His work was even featured on the cover of Artforum Magazine in 2009.
In 2016, his painting New Orleans Niggah, 1973, was displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. In 2019, one of his paintings, Yocks, 1975, sold for $3.72 million at Sotheby's Auction House, showing how much his art is valued.
List of Artworks
- Lawdy Mama, 1969 (The Studio Museum in Harlem)
- Icon for My Man Superman (Superman never saved any black people — Bobby Seale), 1969 (Privately owned)
- Sir Charles, Alias Willie Harris, 1972 (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)
- George Jules Taylor, 1972 (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC)
- New Orleans Niggah, 1973 (National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio)
- Blood (Donald Formey), 1975 (The Wedge Collection, Toronto)
- Yocks, 1975 (Private collection)
- Bahsir (Robert Gowens), 1975 (Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC)
- Steve, 1976 (Whitney Museum of American Art)
- Brilliantly Endowed (Self Portrait), 1977
- Slick, 1977 (Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA)
- View From Behind the School, 2000 (Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC)
- Photo Bloke, 2016 (Private Collection)
Personal Life and Death
Barkley L. Hendricks married Susan Weig in 1983. They were married for many years until his death.
Hendricks passed away at his home in New London, Connecticut, on April 18, 2017, due to a cerebral hemorrhage.
