Delilah Pierce
Secondary Market
Delilah Pierce (1904-1992)
Artwork for Sale
Delilah Pierce, Untitled (Sailboats and a Lighthouse), Watercolor on paper 16” x 20 ¾” framed, (price subject to verification), 1951, Spence Collection
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Delilah Pierce, Untitled (fishing boat) Watercolor on paper, 16” x 20 ¾” framed, (price subject to verification), 1949, Spence Collection
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Delilah Pierce, Vineyard Haven Harbor Massachusetts, Acrylic on Board, 23 ½” x 20” framed, (price subject to verification), 1957, Spence Collection
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Delilah Pierce, Untitled (flower pot), Acrylic on Board 24” x 20” framed, (price subject to verification), 1957, Spence Collection
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Price: Contact Galerie Myrtis - 410-235-3711
Biography
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1904, Delilah W. Pierce served as an educator, artist and curator. Her artistic abilities were discovered at an early age by a teacher who found it difficult to believe that she was able to draw so well.
Delilah is known for her fluid style, which ranged from figurative to abstraction. Her colorful compositions are inspired by nature, social justice, and her travels to Europe and Africa. Pierce was revered by her peers and according to art critic Judith Means, “The way she perceives the world, with joy and optimism, and the stunning clarity of her finely-developed aesthetic sense are integral not only to her character but also to the vivid visual textures of her work.”
Delilah had numerous solo exhibitions and exhibited in more than 150 group shows. During the course of her professional career, she participated in exhibitions with preeminent African-American artists: Elizabeth Catlett, Margaret Burroughs, Richard Dempsey, David Driskell, William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee Smith, Alma Thomas, James Wells, and Charles White.
Her works were featured at: Barnett/Aden Gallery, Cosmos Club, Corcoran Gallery, Howard University Gallery, Margaret Dickey Gallery, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, and Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland and Hampton Institute (University), Hampton, Virginia and Kenkeleba Gallery in New York.
In 1988, Delilah served as curator for the exhibition “Inspiration: 1961-1989” which was held at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and featured the work of thirty-four African-American artists who were members of the District of Columbia Art Education Association. The exhibition, a survey of the works of its members demonstrated the extraordinary talent and served as stated by Ms. Pierce, “ in documenting the history and the staying power of an organization with more than twenty-five years of community involvement and a rich legacy of service.
She was a member of the Smith-Mason Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Old Sculpin Gallery and Cousen Rose Gallery in Massachusetts.
Her work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, University of the District of Columbia, Howard University, Evans-Tibbs Collection, Barnett-Aden Collection, Smith-Mason Gallery of Art, Bowie State College.
Pierce attended Miner Normal (Miner Teachers College) and then Howard University where she earned a B.S. degree. She went on to receive a Masters in art and art education from Teachers College-Columbia University in New York City; and received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from the University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. Pierce received an Agnes-Meyer Fellowship to study abroad in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Her educational study includes travel to London, Paris, Holland, Rome, Greece, Lebanon, the Holy Land, the River Jordan, Cairo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Dakar.
Delilah Pierce-Biography
Delilah W. Pierce (1904-1992)
Biography
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1904, Delilah W. Pierce served as an educator, artist and curator. Her artistic abilities were discovered at an early age by a teacher who found it difficult to believe that she was able to draw so well.
Delilah is known for her fluid style, which ranged from figurative to abstraction. Her colorful compositions are inspired by nature, social justice, and her travels to Europe and Africa. Pierce was revered by her peers and according to art critic Judith Means, “The way she perceives the world, with joy and optimism, and the stunning clarity of her finely-developed aesthetic sense are integral not only to her character but also to the vivid visual textures of her work.”
view exhibition | watch panel discussion
Delilah had numerous solo exhibitions and exhibited in more than 150 group shows. During the course of her professional career, she participated in exhibitions with preeminent African-American artists: Elizabeth Catlett, Margaret Burroughs, Richard Dempsey, David Driskell, William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee Smith, Alma Thomas, James Wells, and Charles White.
Her works were featured at: Barnett/Aden Gallery, Cosmos Club, Corcoran Gallery, Howard University Gallery, Margaret Dickey Gallery, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, and Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland and Hampton Institute (University), Hampton, Virginia and Kenkeleba Gallery in New York.
In 1988, Delilah served as curator for the exhibition “Inspiration: 1961-1989” which was held at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and featured the work of thirty-four African-American artists who were members of the District of Columbia Art Education Association. The exhibition, a survey of the works of its members demonstrated the extraordinary talent and served as stated by Ms. Pierce, “ in documenting the history and the staying power of an organization with more than twenty-five years of community involvement and a rich legacy of service.
She was a member of the Smith-Mason Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Old Sculpin Gallery and Cousen Rose Gallery in Massachusetts.
Her work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, University of the District of Columbia, Howard University, Evans-Tibbs Collection, Barnett-Aden Collection, Smith-Mason Gallery of Art, Bowie State College.
Pierce attended Miner Normal (Miner Teachers College) and then Howard University where she earned a B.S. degree. She went on to receive a Masters in art and art education from Teachers College-Columbia University in New York City; and received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from the University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. Pierce received an Agnes-Meyer Fellowship to study abroad in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Her educational study includes travel to London, Paris, Holland, Rome, Greece, Lebanon, the Holy Land, the River Jordan, Cairo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Dakar.
Lynda Smith-Bugge Video
Lynda Smith-Bugge
artwork | video | statement | resume
Lynda Smith Bugge: Ancient Rhythms Artist Talk
Linda Smith-Bugge: Art Expo, Fort Washington, MD
Artist Talk: Ancient Rhythms: The Grandeur and Intimacy of Nature
Elizabeth Catlett – Video
Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012)
artwork | biography | resale art work
Elizabeth Catlett: Our Common Bond Artists Talk
Elizabeth Catlett: Sculpting the Truth video on DVD and VHS Tape
Elizabeth Catlett : Legends at Howard University
Elizabeth Catlett : Struggling to Get My MFA from the University of Iowa
Lynda Smith-Bugge-Statement
Lynda Smith-Bugge
artwork | video | statement | resume
Statement
My sculpture transforms nature into works of art. My intention is to draw the viewer into the natural colors, textures, and undulating interiors of the wood.
In public spaces my work brings sacredness and serenity to the space. Viewers are reconnected to nature. Winding shapes of branches rise upward; holes are filled with lathe-turned spheres; tree-wounds reveal imperfections integral to the form; and, balanced connections mindfully bring shapes together.
M. Scott Johnson-Video
M. Scott Johnson
artwork | video | statement | bio | resume
M. Scott Johnson - Home Studio Visit
M. Scott Johnson: Parallel Evolution Pt.1
M. Scott Johnson: Parallel Evolution Pt.2
M. Scott Johnson: Uterine Memories
M. Scott Johnson: The Tao of Physics
M. Scott Johnson: John the Conqueror
M. Scott Johnson: Abstraction Artist's Talk
Michael Gross – Statement
Statement
I have been painting and drawing for most of my life and, in recent years making prints. These creative efforts are a means of grappling with the impulses and struggles that make up the way I see my place in the world. In a work of art I am pleased with, I have succeeded in wresting a sense of order from the chaos of an incomplete and unbalanced piece. I create the chaos and then I resolve it.
Although much of my work is non-objective, in the sense that it is not representational, I also consider myself, in some way, to be a landscape artist. I have been inspired by what I see around me – a small bridge, my garden, a view – and have been moved to put onto canvas or paper a spontaneous expression of that experience in an abstract way.
For a number of years, I have been making intensely colorful, frenetic studies of light and movement that, at first, appear to be monochromatic: red, blue, yellow, brown, gray, white, or black. Up close, however, these paintings are teeming with layers of thrown, dripped, and smeared paint. Even the medium varies: I use acrylic, as well as oil. I also apply these methods to my works on paper.
Recently, I have moved away from the appearance of the monochromatic in the paintings and other work—exposing all of the color, shapes and lines (as well as collage) in the finished piece.
I work rapidly, pacing the studio to look at the painting up close, and then from a distance. I rotate the canvas, so I can see where there is imbalance. I take if off the wall and work on the floor, flinging paint to create lines and movement.
The energy I call up to work in this way is both physical and spiritual. I am wrestling with divergent forces: intensity vs. detachment, emotion vs. reason, light vs. darkness, and color vs. black. Every work is an attempt to capture a moment of equilibrium, a kind of elegant balance in time and space that is recorded permanently in the painting, drawing or print. I settle for a while, and then I seem to need to do it again.
My hope is that viewers will be drawn in, will want to look at the work for a minute or two because in this image I made gives them a vision of the incredible power, ambiguity, intricacy, and beauty of our lives.
Michael Gross was born in 1944 and grew up in Chicago.
Anderson Pigatt Bibliography
Anderson Pigatt (1928-2009)
artwork | video | statement | bio | bibl. | press | resume
Bibliography
African-American Visual Artists – An Annotated Bibliography of Educational Resource Materials. Daniel Frye. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.: Lanham, MD, February 7, 2001
Almanac of African American Heritage: A Book of Lists Featuring People, Places, Times, And Events that Shaped Black Culture. Juanita J. Davis, Sharon E. Ferguson-Roberts, Rita G. Giles and Johnnie H. Miles. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NY, 2000.
Anonymous.”Harlem Unveiling.” New York Post: New York, NY, August 26, 1975.
Black Art – Ancestral Legacy: The African Impulse in African-American Art. Robert V. Rozelle, Alvia Wardlaw and Maureen A. McKenna, ed. Dallas Museum of Art: Dallas, TX, 1989.
Bullard, C. “African Roots Nourish Universal Images.” Richmond Times-Dispatch: Richmond, VA, October 15, 1993.
Canady, John. ” Sculpture is the Strength of New Black Artists’ Show.” The New York Times: New York, NY, October 8, 1971.
Chandler, Dana. “Anderson Pigatt: A Self-Taught Artist.” Bay State Banner. Boston, MA, November 22, 1973.
Dorsey, John. “Pigatt Retrospective.” The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore, MD, October 20, 1998.
King Hammond, Leslie. Masters, Mentors and Makers.Pavsner Press: Baltimore, MD, 1992.
King Hammond, Leslie. The Intuitive Eye. Harbor Exchange: Baltimore, MD, 1985.
Masters, Barbara. “Integrity of the Message and the Medium.” AURA of the Arts: Baltimore, MD, August 1977.
Pigatt, A. “A Tree Returns to Harlem.” New York Voice: New York, NY, Aug. 29, 1975.
Preston, Malcolm. “Distinctly Black.” Newsday: Long Island, NY, December 24, 1971.
Sharp, Christopher. “Arts and Pleasures, Stories in Wood.” Womens Wear Daily: New York, NY, August 31, 1976.
Smythe, Victor. Black New York Artists of the 20th Century: Selections from the Schomburg Collections. New York Public Library Press: New York, NY, 1998.
Speaking Spirits: Nov. 18-Dec. 2, 1973: Sculpture by Anderson J. Pigatt: Museum of National Center of Afro-American Artists. National Center of Afro-American Artists, 1973
Stevens, Elisabeth. “Intuitive Eye is Artists’ Vision.” The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore, MD, June 6, 1985.
St. James Guide to Black Artists: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Thomas Riggs. St James Press: An Imprint of Gale: Detroit, MI, 1997.
Taylor, Edward. New Black Artists.Clarke and Way, Inc., 1969.
Taylor, Robert. “Anderson J. Pigatt Sculpture Seen in Speaking Spirits.” Boston Globe: Boston, MA, November 22 ,1973.
Anderson Pigatt Statement
Anderson Pigatt (1928-2009)
artwork | video | statement | bio | bibl. | press | resume
Statement
Most of us have lost the real reason why we came into this world, and believe me there is a reason, only known to you – not your mother, father, sister, brother or anyone on this earth – only you before your entry. But if we do as we were intended to do – that is to move around this world – we will find our path again, making us happy for finding the truth. Don’t wait for the truth to come to you; most likely it is a lie.
The path, when found, we must walk until death. If a man takes a wife, and he is of path, truth, love and good health, old age will come to them a happy death. For sickness is a lack of work, and work should be doing the things that make life better for you, your family and friends. If there are kids, they must grow free with only the teaching of truth, so they can keep moving toward their path. And in a lot of cases the son’s path will be the same as the father’s, for the father’s truth will shine bright in the eyes of the son.
Age to me means wisdom: how to move, where to move, what to do, what not to do, and to keep moving toward your end. The end could very well mean another beginning in another life. I often think of my father on his deathbed and the last thing he said that was understood. He said, “What has a man gained if he’s gained the world and lost his soul?” I guess this is why I’m a woodworker, for you see, wood to me is always alive.
These dead trees that I write stories on may last 1,000 years for the world to see. And even though they might become outdated, they are a part of our time. I feel as though some day others may laugh at them to know that man was so dumb. Yet we all work toward that day when killing and hating another man’s color will be a thing of the past, when work will be a thing of enjoyment for all man; the time when there will be no rich man or poor man, black man or white – only man. For when God made man, there were lights, color and sound, happiness all around, and my dream is to bring it about again by returning light, color and sound to the consciousness of mankind. And I will work until hate be replaced with love and greed is replaced with giving.
Powerful is the man of truth and love, taking nothing and giving eternal life.