Norman Parish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Norman Parish
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| Born | August 26, 1937 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
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| Died | July 8, 2013 Germantown, Maryland, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Art Institute of Chicago |
| Occupation | Artist, Art dealer |
Norman Parish (born August 26, 1937, died July 8, 2013) was an American artist and art dealer. He grew up in Chicago. He started and ran the Parish Gallery in Washington, DC. It opened in 1991. His gallery became famous for showing art by African American artists. At that time, not many other galleries focused on their work.
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Learning and Art Studies
Norman Parish studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also attended the University of Chicago.
Early Art Career
When Norman Parish started his art career in Chicago, he joined a group of African American artists. These artists used their art to share important messages about their community. Some of them later formed a group called AfriCOBRA. This name stands for "African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists." It was started in 1968 by artists Wadsworth Jarrell and Jeff Donaldson. Both of them taught at Howard University.
In the late 1960s, Parish and other artists created a large painting called The Wall of Respect. This mural was on the South Side of Chicago. It was a new and bold idea at the time. Today, it is known for inspiring many other community murals around the world. The famous poet Gwendolyn Brooks even wrote a poem about it called “The Wall.” She won a Pulitzer Prize for her writing.
Opening the Parish Gallery
Norman Parish moved to Washington, DC, in 1988. He opened the Parish Gallery in 1991. He realized that many talented artists needed help. They needed someone to show their work to the world.
He remembered, "At first, many of the artists I showed were people I knew from art school." He added, "But around 1993 and 1994, other artists started coming to me. These artists were missing chances because no one was helping them. No one was promoting their art."
The Parish Gallery's Impact
Norman Parish's gallery in Georgetown became one of the most well-known art galleries owned by a Black person in the country. It focused on art by African Americans. It also showed art from other artists with African roots.
Over the years, the gallery showed art from more than 170 artists. These artists came from the United States, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, and Morocco. The gallery also featured artists from Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, and France. Some famous artists who showed their work there include Sam Gilliam, Richard Mayhew, Lou Stovall, Percy Martin, Evangeline Montgomery, Victor Ekpuk, Lois Mailou Jones, and Wadsworth Jarrell.
