Kathleen Blackshear facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kathleen Blackshear
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| Born | June 6, 1897 Navasota, Texas
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| Died | October 14, 1988 (aged 91) Navasota, Texas
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | artist, teacher |
Kathleen Blackshear (1897–1988) was an American artist who painted in a modern style. She was well-known for her thoughtful paintings of African-American people.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Kathleen Blackshear was born on June 6, 1897, near Navasota, Texas. This area was known for growing cotton. She was the only child of Edward Duncan Blackshear and May (Terrell) Blackshear. She spent much of her childhood on family cotton farms near Navasota. Her friendships with African-American children working on these farms greatly shaped her art later on.
School Days and Art Studies
Blackshear finished Navasota High School in 1914. She showed a talent for art from a young age. After high school, she went to Baylor University and earned a degree in modern languages in 1917. Then, she moved to New York to study art at the Art Students League. Her teachers there included Solon Borglum, George Bridgman, and Frank Vincent DuMond.
In 1918, she left New York and spent six years traveling. She visited Texas, California, and Europe. During this time, she took on different jobs. In Los Angeles, she even hand-colored films and designed movie posters.
Studying Art in Chicago
In 1924, Blackshear started her art studies again. This time, she went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She learned from artists like John Norton and Charles Fabens Kelley. She also studied with art historian Helen Gardner, who became a close friend for life. Blackshear studied painting and graphic arts. She later earned her master's degree from SAIC in 1940.
Teaching and Art Work
In 1926, Blackshear began teaching at SAIC. She taught art history and studio classes to support herself. She continued teaching there until she retired in 1961. She was known for helping young African-American artists, including Margaret Burroughs. She also took her students on trips to see African and Asian art collections.
Illustrating Books
While at SAIC, Blackshear created detailed drawings for two of Helen Gardner's books. These included Art Through the Ages (1926) and Understanding the Arts (1932). Art Through the Ages was one of the first American art history books to include art from outside Western cultures. Blackshear also drew pictures for Katharine Kuh's book Art Has Many Faces (1951).
Blackshear and Gardner shared an interest in non-Western art. Their ideas greatly influenced the unique style of artists in Chicago after World War II.
Her Art Style
Blackshear's art was influenced by different modern art movements. These included Post-Impressionism and Cubism. She developed many styles, using bold, simple shapes and repeating patterns. Her paintings often featured strong diagonal lines and tilted surfaces. Her work sometimes reminds people of Regionalist painters like Thomas Hart Benton or modern artists like Fernand Léger. Her playful abstract drawings are similar to the style of Paul Klee.
Focus on African-American Subjects
From 1924 to 1940, African Americans were the main focus of her art. She became known for showing them with warmth and honesty, without being overly emotional. In 1939, a critic named C. J. Bulliet called her "Chicago’s most sympathetic, most understanding painter of the American Negro."
Blackshear also created two dioramas for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago.
Art Exhibitions
During her life, Blackshear showed her art in museums. These included the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Delgado Museum of Art in New Orleans. Her first solo museum show was in 1941 at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
Personal Life
Even though she lived in Chicago, Blackshear kept an art studio in Houston. She often spent her summers in Navasota. Blackshear's lifelong friend and companion was the artist Ethel Spears. They likely met at SAIC. Ethel Spears passed away in 1974.
Kathleen Blackshear died on October 14, 1988, in Navasota, Texas.
Her Legacy
Kathleen Blackshear's artwork is held in important collections. These include the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
In 1990, SAIC held a special art show called "A Tribute to Kathleen Blackshear" to honor her work.
Her personal papers and those of Ethel Spears are kept at the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C.
See also
In Spanish: Kathleen Blackshear para niños
