biography of Samella Sanders LEWIS (1924-2022)

Birth place: New Orleans, LA

Addresses: Los Angeles, CA

Profession: Painter, art historian

Studied: Hampton Inst (B.S.); Ohio State Univ. (M.A. & Ph. D.); Tunghai Univ., Taiwan (Fulbright fellowship, 1962); Univ. Southern Calif. (Nat. Defense Educ. Act grant, 1964-66); NY Univ. Inst. FA, 1965.

Exhibited: Hirshhorn Coll., Palm Springs Mus., 1969; "Dimensions of Black," La Jolla Mus. Art, 1970; "Two Generations of Black Artists," Calif. State Univ., Los Angeles, 1970; Brockman Gal.; Ankrum Gal.; James A. Porter Gal., 1970; WMAA, 1971; State Armory, Wilmington, DE, 1971; Rainbow Sign Gal., Berkeley, 1972. Awards: NY State-Ford Found. grant, 1965.

Member: College AA Am.; Nat. Conf. Artists (co-chmn., 1970-73); Am. Soc. Aesthetics.

Work: Oakland (CA) Mus.; BMA; VMFA; High Mus., Atlanta, GA; Atlanta Univ. Mus. Contemp. Art; Ohio State Union Gal.; Penn. State Univ.; Denison Univ.; Boys College, Amman, Jordan. Commissions: mural, Florida history, comn. by pres., Florida A&M Univ., 1955; paintings, comn. by dean, Hampton Inst., 1967.

Comments: Positions: coord. educ., LACMA, 1969-70; pres., Contemp. Crafts Publ., 1969; owner, Multi-Cultural Gal., 1971. Publications: co-ed., Black Artists on Art, Vols. I & II, 1969 & 1971. Collections arranged: Five Black Artists, 1970 & The Renaissance in Harlem, 1971, Lang Art Gal., Scripps College.Teaching: Florida A&M Univ, 1953-58; State Univ. NY, 1958-68; Scripps College, 1969. Research: African, Asian and African-Am. art. Collection: rare African works, including Bakuba in the 1890s; sand paintings of the African Am. Indian; contemp. Asian and African-Am. works.

Sources: WW73; The Black Artists, film, "Afrographics," 1968; Focus, KNBC-TV, 1968; article, Los Angeles Times, 1970; Cederholm, Afro-American Artists.