Evangeline Montgomery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Evangeline Montgomery
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| Born |
Evangeline Juliet Montgomery
May 2, 1930 New York, New York, U.S.
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| Nationality |  United States |
| Alma mater | California College of the Arts |
| Known for | Printmaking, Metalwork |
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Notable work
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Ancestral boxes, Colorful lithographs |
Evangeline Juliet "EJ" Montgomery (born May 2, 1930, in New York City, New York) is a talented American artist. She is most famous for her amazing metal sculptures. But she has also created beautiful prints, lithographs, and worked as a curator, which means she helped organize art shows. In 1999, she won a special award called the Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award for her long and important career.
Art expert Floyd Coleman has called her a very important person in American art. He says she has always worked to support the arts and help communities grow. He sees her as an artist, an art manager, and an activist who stands up for what she believes in.
Early Life and Artistic Beginnings
Evangeline Montgomery was born in New York City. Her father, Oliver Thompson, was a Baptist minister, and her mother, Carmelite Thompson, was a homemaker. Evangeline found her love for art early on. When she was 14, she received an oil painting set and discovered her artistic talent.
After finishing Seward Park High School, Montgomery's first jobs involved painting faces on dolls and religious statues. In 1955, she moved to Los Angeles with her husband. There, she worked for Thomas Usher, a jewelry designer who was also African American.
She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree in 1969 from the California College of Arts and Crafts. She focused on metallurgy, which is the study of metals and how to work with them. After college, she worked as an independent curator and consultant from 1967 to 1979. She also advised a place called Rainbow Sign, a busy Black cultural center in Berkeley, California, on "Black Art."
Championing African American Artists
As a curator, Evangeline Montgomery became a strong supporter of the arts. She worked hard to make sure that more African American artists had their work shown. She was appointed as an "Ethnic Art Consultant" at the Oakland Museum of California. In this role, she successfully put together eight exhibitions. These shows featured both well-known and new Black artists.
For example, in 1971, she organized a special show about the African American sculptor Sargent Johnson (1887-1967). In 1970, she created an exhibition called "California Black Craftsmen." This show featured nineteen artists, including Eileen Abdulrashid, Dale Brockman Davis, Doyle Lane, and John Outterbridge. Montgomery found many forgotten documents about Sargent Johnson, who was active during the Harlem Renaissance. Her exhibition helped people remember and appreciate Johnson's important work in African American art.
In 1980, Montgomery moved to Washington, DC. There, she became the community affairs director for WHMM-TV, a television station. In 1983, she started working for the US State Department's Arts America Program. This program helps share American art and culture around the world. Through this program, Montgomery helped create successful art programs both in the United States and in other countries. As a curator, she organized more than 200 art exhibitions!
In 2005, an organization called Blacks in Government (BIG) started the Evangeline J. Montgomery Scholarship Fund. This fund has given out over $40,000 in scholarships to help students with their education.
Evangeline Montgomery's Artworks
As an artist, Evangeline Montgomery has used many different materials. Her famous ancestral boxes are made of sterling silver. She also adds things like semi-precious stones and objects she finds. Montgomery says these boxes are meant "to hold something precious." They explore how memory and memorials are important in human history.
One of her first boxes, "Ancestor Box 1: Justice for Angela," was made in 1971. She created it in response to the trial of political activist Angela Davis. The box includes a symbol from the Ashanti people that means justice. Another important work is "Red, Black and Green Ancestral Box - Garvey Box" (1973). This box is made of sterling silver with red, black, and green enamel. These colors remind people of Marcus Garvey, an important leader.
A health condition called Parkinson's disease has made it hard for Montgomery to continue working with metal. Because of this, she has started to focus more on printmaking.
Montgomery explains her artistic ideas and what inspires her. She says her visual ideas are shown through abstract shapes and layers of textured forms. This process creates new color combinations. She gets her ideas for colors from nature, like the clear layers in plants, water, stone, and the amazing variety of life forms.
Montgomery's art has been shown in many solo and group exhibitions. You can find her work in museums and galleries across the United States. Her pieces are part of private collections and permanent museum collections. These include the Paul Jones Collection of the University of Delaware, the Oakland Museum of California, and the Library of Congress. She currently lives in Washington, DC.
