Sedrick Huckaby facts for kids

Sedrick Ervin Huckaby, born in 1975, is an American artist. He is famous for his unique paintings. He uses thick paint to make large artworks that look like traditional quilts. He also paints big portraits of his family and friends, sharing his own story through their faces.

About Sedrick Huckaby

Sedrick Huckaby grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. When he was a kid, he loved drawing characters from TV shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In high school, he took art classes at the Modern Art Museum. There, he met another artist, Ron Tomlinson, who told him to follow his dream of becoming an artist.

Sedrick studied art at Texas Wesleyan University. He then earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boston University in 1997. Later, he received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University in 1999. He has also given talks about art at museums like the Dallas Museum of Art. Since 2009, he has been a painting professor at UT Arlington. Sedrick is married to artist Letitia Huckaby, and they have three children.

Sedrick's Artworks

Opal Lee (2023), National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Sedrick Huckaby often uses images of quilts in his art. For many years, quilts were just backgrounds in his portraits. But over time, they became the main subject of his work. He has talked about how quilts inspire his abstract paintings.

Famous Art Series

• Big Momma's House: This series from 2008 includes 65 paintings, pastels, and drawings. Sedrick worked on it for two years. It focuses on his grandmother, Hallie Beatrice Carpenter, who everyone called "Big Momma."
• A Love Supreme (Spring): This large painting is inspired by a jazz song by John Coltrane. It shows quilts draped across the canvas, highlighting their weight and texture. The bright colors and folds of the fabric remind viewers of jazz music. It also honors his grandmother's traditional African-American quilts.
• The 99% - Highland Hills: This collection of portraits was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. It shows the differences in wealth among people in the U.S. Sedrick drew portraits of people from his community and included quotes from them.

Sedrick's paintings were also featured in a February 2020 issue of National Geographic. They were part of a story about the Clotilda, which was the last known slave ship to arrive in the U.S. in 1860.

Where to See His Art

You can find Sedrick Huckaby's art in many important museums. These include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. His work is also at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Blanton Museum of Art.

Awards and Honors

Sedrick Huckaby has received many awards for his amazing art.

• In 1999, he won the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship from the University of Illinois. He also received the Alice Kimball English Traveling Fellowship from Yale University. This award helped him travel to study the works of another artist, Henry Tanner.
• In 2001, he won "Best of Show" at the 20th Carrol Harris Simms National Black Art Competition. This led to his own art show at the African American Museum in Dallas.
• In 2004, he received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant. This grant helps talented painters and sculptors with their careers.
• In 2008, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. This is one of the most respected art grants in the country.
• In 2016, he was one of the winners of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. This competition is held by The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
• In 2018, he was named the Texas State Visual Artist for painting and drawing. He also won an arts and letters award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Selected Exhibitions

Sedrick Huckaby's art has been shown in many solo exhibitions across the United States. Here are a few examples:

• 2021 – Sedrick Huckaby, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
• 2016 – The 99%- Highland Hills, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas
• 2012 – Faith & Family: Sedrick Huckaby, The Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas
• 2008 – Sedrick Huckaby: Big Momma's House, Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas
• 2003 – A Love Supreme, African American Museum, Dallas, Texas

Selected Collections

You can find Sedrick Huckaby's art in these collections:

• Sedrick Huckaby at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Fort Worth Central Library, Fort Worth, Texas
• African American Museum, Dallas, Texas