Walter Augustus Simon was an art historian, professor, and artist best known for his abstract oil paintings from Petersburg, VA. "Abstraction—The City—No. 3" depicts a city scene in front of a set of brownstones with abstracted bricks. Several Black people are conversing, relaxing, and playing around the building.
This sketch by John Biggers is part of his planning process for his mural in Christia V. Adair Park, named for an iconic Houston civil rights activist. As part of this project, Biggers also designed a pavilion to contain this mural, drawing inspiration from the homes of the Dogon people of Mali. The mural itself features scenes from Adair's life interspersed with Biggers's own Afrocentric iconography.
Alvin Smith was an artist from Brooklyn, NY. "As in an Arctic Sunrise" is an abstract depiction of the sunrise in a frozen landscape. Muted yellows shine through an array of black, white, and muted blues.
Franklin Shands was a painter from Cincinnati, Ohio. "Back Way" shows the rear view of conjoined brick buildings with chimneys, a staircase, and a balcony. A door sits at the center of the painting, with four stacked barrels on the right.
Samella Sanders Lewis was a printmaker, painter, sculptor, and art historian from New Orleans, LA. "Barrier" is a drawing that depicts the physical and social barriers between groups of people. In the foreground, three women and a boy suspiciously look at a group of townspeople who return their stare from the other side of a barbed wire fence.
Leonard Cooper was a painter, musician, and piano teacher from Salinas, CA. "Before the Rains Came" illustrates a rural landscape prior to a rainstorm. It depicts two barns, a thicket of trees, a fenced area, and rolling hills under a dark cloudy sky.
Remble's drawing portrays renowned Mardi Gras Indian chief David Montana. Mardi Gras Indians refers to Black New Orleanians who draw from Creole, Indigenous, African, and Afro-Caribbean tradition to develop a unique form of visual culture and resistance. Remble, a Texas Southern graduate, was born in New Orleans and later moved to Houston. In his own words, he aims to "explore and preserve the diverse subcultures of the American South" through his art.
Hals’ drawing shows two women chatting on the street. Their environment, filled with shotgun homes and tall grass, resembles Houston’s Third Ward, the historically Black neighborhood that Texas Southern University calls home. TSU art students, at Dr. Biggers’ instruction, often looked to their surroundings for inspiration.
Tinker’s drawing shows three children lounging around a fallen tree. The two girls are depicted with elongated limbs, and the rightmost girl also has oversized hands. Dr. Biggers influenced his students to draw the hands and feet of their subjects in great detail and disproportionately large. This style continues to be taught to and implemented in the works of TSU artists in the 21st century.
Lewis E. Stephens was an artist and photographer from Hamden, CT. "Country" is a rural landscape painting depicting a residential area beneath a mountain range. In the foreground is an open landscape with a vegetation between residential farms. In the background, Stephens uses cool hues to illustrate the mountains.
This drawing by Dr. John T. Biggers depicts a family caught up in a wild storm that is swirling around them. Biggers' artwork frequently highlights family dynamics and the centrality of mothers. Biggers appears to have later repurposed this sketch and added additional floral details to create his 1992 print Metamorphosis III.
Estella W. Johnson was an artist from New York, NY. "Delancey Street, N.Y.C.," is a watercolor depiction of a multi-use building in New York. There is a red brick apartment above a storefront with a fire escape. There is also a woman watering plants out of her window.
Vivian M. Williams was an artist and art teacher from Coshocton, OH. "Discards" depicts scattered pieces of wooden furniture, including a rocking chair, in a room with white-brown brick walls. The broken pieces have been cast aside on a bed of bright yellow hay with strands of golden brown.
Woodruff’s portrait depicts Martin Luther King Jr., the iconic civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. Woodruff taught art at Atlanta University for 15 years and perhaps came into contact with MLK during this time. Two of these three side profiles appear to show King smiling, while in the third he is looking away with a serious expression. Woodruff's Art of the Negro murals at Clark Atlanta University are one of his crowning achievements.
Biggers’ drawing shows a woman and her reflection. The woman, positioned on the left side of the composition, looks slightly back over her left shoulder, while the sun creeps out from around her midsection. The woman is cradling a baby in her arms. Her reflection is drawn loosely with minimal details, and the two are separated by a line of plant and fish shapes.
Mendoza’s drawing shows two doves and a serpent protecting an abstract, embryo-like figure. A geometric aura emanates from the bundle of creatures, perhaps alluding to the way parents protect their children. The drawing is created using crosshatching and heavy use of geometric shapes; both of these techniques are characteristic of the work of Dr. John T. Biggers and his students.
Warren L. Harris was a draftsman from Brooklyn, NY. "East River" is a watercolor painting of its namesake in New York City. Harris captures a scene of multi-floor buildings, a water tower, phone lines, and a factory along the bank of the river. There are several boats in the water.
Gerald F. Hooper, Sr. was an artist from Tallahassee, FL. "Figures" depicts geometric figures dancing. Hooper uses circles, quadrilaterals and other shapes to frame the moving figures. The background is a collage of colorful wax strokes.
This is an architectural rendering for the Fine Arts Building on Texas Southern’s campus. The building was dedicated as the John T. Biggers Art Center in 1995 to honor the art department’s founder. The building largely retains its original character as depicted in this image.
Calvin Burnett was a graphic artist, illustrator, painter, designer, and art teacher from Cambridge, MA. "Four Girls Dancing Together" depicts four young girls dancing in pairs in a shadowed room. While both pairs have sorrowful expressions and demeanors, the two girls in the foreground wear distinctly apprehensive expressions. Their seminude, shadowy bodies stand together in pairs as they sway, caressing each other.
This drawing combines elements of traditional African sculpture and futuristic motifs. The figures’ faces resemble Ashanti akuaba (fertility dolls). The seated mother with a child is also a common motif in African sculpture, as seen in some works from the University Museum’s collection. The figures’ hair textures suggest a more futuristic design.
Norma Morgan was a painter from New Haven, Connecticut. "Ghost Light" shows a house and a shed that sit in the close foreground. Their wooden structures are cast in heavy shadow. There is an atmospheric background remaining with a gloomy color palette of gray, black, and white.
Alfred Figures was an artist from Mobile, AL. "Green Field" is a landscape painting that depicts a field of rolling grass and a distant tree line. Fine green lines form rows of organic matter, depicting an open field.
Sauls’ drawing is a portrait, completed in pastel, of a person with curly hair wrapped in a green robe. As a part of the curriculum at TSU, art students are required to create portraits. Some opt for self-portraits, while others begin to create images of those including family, friends, and peers. A variety of portraits created with different mediums can be found in the permanent collection.
William V. Harper was an artist and art educator from Cayuga, Ontario, Canada. "Group Study #1" is a gestural drawing focusing on several human figures' physical composition. Lines of body parts overlap, and each figure moves in different positions and directions.
Carter’s drawing is of Lee Otis Johnson, a former TSU student, organizer, and leader of the Houston Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Houston police repeatedly targeted Johnson, and in 1968 they arrested him for passing marijuana to an undercover officer, and a judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison. This injustice gained widespread notoriety, and “Free Lee Otis” became a rallying cry.
Lois Mailou Jones was an artist and art educator who worked in textile design, watercolor, painting, and collage from Boston, MA. "Impasse De L'Oratoire Grasse" depicts a dead-end market street in Grasse, France. This piece provides a glimpse into the social life of the people of Grasse. There are several people performing their everyday lives in the piece, including activities like: smoking cigarettes, spending quality time and shopping.
Archie Taylor was an artist from Montgomery, AL. Javanese Ritual is an abstract depiction of an indigenous Indonesian spiritual ceremony. The Javanese have rituals for coming-of-age, marriage, appeals to nature, and secret initiations.
Vital’s drawing may be a mural pre-study. The scene depicts a spirit of revelry, with musicians entertaining a large crowd gathered to enjoy the music and dance. The instruments vary from those of a typical blues and jazz ensemble, like the drum set, trumpet, and guitar, to the tambourine, often associated with southern gospel. The figures' fluidity suggests movement and freedom.
Jimmie Mosely was an artist, navyman, and art professor from Lakeland, FL. Johannesburg is an abstract watercolor depiction of African people traveling through the street. Mosely uses bright colors that emphasize the vibrance of South African culture.
