David C. Driskell
B. 1931 - 2020
Born in 1931 in Eatonton, Georgia, David C. Driskell grew up in North Carolina and completed the art program at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine in 1953. He received an undergraduate degree in art from Howard University in 1955 and an M.F.A. from The Catholic University of America in 1962. He then explored postgraduate study in art history at The Netherlands Institute for the History of Art in The Hague. Trained as a painter and art historian, Driskell worked primarily in collage and mixed media and printmaking.
He maintained an active career as a practicing artist, teacher, curator, collector, art administrator, and art consultant. He lectured across the globe and his works are included in major collections of art museums throughout the world. Driskell authored several exhibition catalogues on the subject of African American art. He received numerous fellowships, awards, and prizes, including three Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships and a Harmon Foundation Fellowship. In 2000, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Clinton.
Master Artist David C. Driskell and Master Printmakers Curlee R. Holton and Jase Clark began collaborating in 2003 and never stopped. The pair developed a natural ease in working together, utilizing experimental printmaking techniques both at Raven Fine Art Editions and Lafayette College’s Experimental Printmaking Institute, both institutions founded by Holton. In 2014, Holton was appointed Executive Director of the David C. Driskell Center, further developing the duo’s relationship. They produced over 40 creative projects together, with two in progress at the time of Driskell’s passing.
The recipient of numerous fellowships, awards, and prizes including three Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships and a Harmon Foundation Fellowship, Prof. Driskell also received thirteen honorary doctoral degrees in art. While teaching at the University of Maryland, Prof. Driskell maintained an active career as a practicing artist, teacher, curator, collector, art administrator, and art consultant. He lectured across the globe and his works are included in major collections of art museums throughout the world. Prof. Driskell authored five exhibition books on the subject of African American art, co-authored four others, and published more than 40 catalogues from exhibitions he previously curated.
