Haywood Rivers facts for kids

Haywood "Bill" Rivers (born May 8, 1922 – died December 27, 2001) was an amazing African American artist. He was also a gallerist, which means he helped run an art gallery. This gallery was a place where other artists could show their work. Haywood Rivers created many beautiful paintings during his life.

About Haywood Rivers

Early Life and Art School

Haywood Rivers was born in a town called Morven, North Carolina. This was on May 8, 1922. He loved art and went to a special art school. It was called the Art Students League of New York. He studied there from 1946 to 1949. After that, he traveled to Paris, France. In Paris, he continued his art training. He studied at the Ecole du Louvre from 1949 to 1952.

Opening an Art Gallery

After his studies, Haywood Rivers did something very cool. He helped open an art gallery in Paris. It was called Galerie Huit. This gallery was a special place. It showed the artwork of American artists in Paris. He ran the gallery with his friends. Their names were Al Held and Jules Olitski. They managed the gallery for five years. Some artists who showed their work there included Edward Clark (artist) and Herbert Gentry.

His Unique Art Style

When Rivers first started painting, he learned from French artists. They liked to make figures simpler. They also used flat shapes and bright colors. When he came back to the United States, his style changed. He started painting in a way called "non-objectivist." This means his art didn't always show real objects. He was inspired by other African American artists. Two of them were Jacob Lawrence and Horace Pippin.

Even with new styles, some things stayed the same in Rivers' art. He always put a lot of paint on his canvases. This made his paintings look strong and bold. He also used very bright and powerful colors. Many of his paintings showed themes from his childhood. These themes came from his time growing up in North Carolina.

Exhibitions and Awards

Haywood Rivers' art was shown in many places. He had his own art shows. These were called "solo exhibitions." Some of them were at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1948. He also had shows at the Artist House in New York in 1973. His work was also part of many group shows. These shows included "Contemporary American Black Artists." This was at the Hudson River Museum. Another was "Afro-American Artists" at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Rivers also received many awards for his talent. He won the Gretchen H. Hutzler Award in 1948. He also got the Baltimore Museum Annual Prize in 1948. He received special fellowships too. These included the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship and the John Hay Whitney Fellowship. His paintings are now in important art collections. You can find his work at the Baltimore Museum of Art. His art is also at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.