Items

• Telephone Workers

  O'Higgins' print shows two men balancing on a board and working on a cylindrical structure. Unlike most of the works in their permanent collection, O’Higgins had no connection to Texas Southern. He was an established artist in the 20th century and was mentored by Diego Rivera.
• Beliphone

  This Biggers print shows a figure playing a balafon, with a sankofa bird overhead. The balafon is a West African percussion, and the sankofa bird signifies the importance of the past in improving the future. Taken together, they show the importance of music in preserving culture.
• at Risk...

  This Biggers print shows a head surrounded by animals and a checkerboard. Checkerboards and swirls are common motifs in Biggers' work, which he called "sacred geometry." The pictured animals are symbolic; for instance, tortoises represent longevity, rabbits represent bad omens.
• Old House Near the Trail

  The print by Booker shows a rural landscape featuring a small run down house. The area is not frequented by people which is shown by the boarded window and the cracked and overgrown path.
• House of Worship

  The print by Williams depicts a modest Christian worship house. A fireplace warms the church and a path out the door snakes through a field. Williams was a Texas Southern student in the late 1970s and was taught printmaking by Dr. John T. Biggers, founder of the art department.
• Offsprings + Amen

  This print by Bennie Settles shows a mother and child standing in a field and feeding chickens. Settles' illustration of seeds is reminiscent of the way John Biggers paints seeds in his masterpiece mural "Web of Life."
• Woman Gazing Back at a Group

  This print by Trudell Mimms shows a woman gazing to her right, with unidentifiable figures in the background. In Black Art in Houston: The Texas Southern University Experience, Dr. John T. Biggers referred to Mimms as "one of our finest painters."
• Dog in the Meadow

  This etching by American artist Leonard Baskin shows a dog dozing in a meadow. Unlike most works in the Permanent Collection, the artist is not an alumnus of Texas Southern, nor tied to the university in any way. Instead, this piece was donated to the museum by a benefactor.
• Swimmer Looking Upwards

  This print by Harry Vital shows a woman in a swimsuit tilting her head upwards. Dr. John T. Biggers taught students the craft of printmaking while he was a professor at Texas Southern University. Vital followed in Biggers' footsteps and became a longtime art professor at TSU.