PFF Collection of African American Art

Bringing focus to the full range of African American art and its essential place in the history and discourse of American art.

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Glory Van Scott

The Prodigal Son, 1965 (w/ Philip Stamps) Divine Drumbeats, 1980 Fly Blackbird, 1962 (w/ Jack Crowder) Miss Truth, 1972 The Great White Hope, 1968 (w/ James Earl Jones) Elizabeth Catlett’s Glory sculpture, 1981 The Wiz, 1978

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Eldzier Cortor was born in 1916 in Tidewater, Virginia. Cortor studied at Chicago’s Englewood High School with fellow students Charles White and Charles Sebree, then pursued advanced training at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he obtained a degree in 1936. Back in Chicago, he worked for the W.P.A. and was a founding member and teacher at the Southside Community Art Center. Fellowships from the Rosenwald and Guggenheim Foundations enabled Cortor to travel to Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Sea Island of Georgia.

In 1938 Cortor exhibited in the interracial show, “An Exhibition in Defense of Peace and Democracy,” sponsored by the Chicago Artists’ Group, and in 1940, he participated in “The Exhibition of the Art of the American Negro”, also hosted in Chicago. He also contributed to the 1967 CUNY exhibition “The Evolution of Afro-American Artists: 1800 – 1950”. In 1976 his painting, “Interior,” was included in LACMA's “Two Centuries of Black American Art,” curated by David Driskell. The Boston Psychoanalytic Society held a solo exhibition of his work entitled “Eldzier Cortor: Master Printmaker” in 2002. In 2010 his works were included in an exhibition at the Library of Congress. His work can be found in the collections of Howard University, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and The Art Institute of Chicago.

Featured work:

PFF140D - "Compositional Study No. III," Etching on paper, 1974 PFF257 - "Jewels Theme V.," Color mezzotint with etching and aquatint, 1985 PFF223 - "Classical Study No. 36," Oil on linen canvas, 1979 PFF277 - "Lady with Green Chair," Oil on canvas, 2007 PFF278 - "Figure in Repose," Oil on linen canvas, 2014

https://pffcollection.com/artists/eldzier-cortor/

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YoYo Lander, Hold That Thought #2, Stained, washed, and collaged watercolor paper on watercolor paper, 2021, 20 x 18 in.

YoYo Lander is a figurative visual artist. Her art explores the essence of people of color. Her objective is to highlight that the Black community is multifaceted rather than monolithic. She prioritizes nuance, empathy, and embodied expressions in her figures.

Lander’s process is extremely intricate and technical. She sources her paper, dyes the pieces individually, and subsequently cuts and organizes them into compelling, emotionally resonant compositions. And on top of all that, her work is gorgeous—looking at this piece is a delightful indulgence.

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Sam Middleton was born in 1927 in New York City and grew up in Harlem at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1944, he enlisted in the Merchant Marines at age 17 and returned to New York in the 1950s. There he befriended other New York School artists such as Franz Kline, Jackson Pollack, and Robert Motherwell.

Middleton, who was largely self-taught, often saw jazz masters like Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker play live in the 1950s, and was inspired to translate the spontaneity of their music to works on paper. He incorporated music sheets, newspapers, tickets, magazines, and cards he’d collected into his collages, famously attaching them with Elmer’s glue.

In 1955, Middleton made his first artistic trip outside of New York. Following the lead of other African American artists who were in search of a more open-minded atmosphere, Middleton settled briefly in Mexico City. It was in Mexico that his style shifted from social realism to abstract expressionism. By 1959, he resolved to leave the US permanently. He spent time traveling to Spain, Sweden, and Denmark, and eventually settled in the Netherlands in the 1960s. He formed many close friendships during his time in Europe, spending time with artists and intellectuals such as Herbert Gentry and James Baldwin. Middleton passed away in the Netherlands in 2015.

Middleton’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in the collections of the Whitney Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Fisk University Galleries, the Hampton University Museum, and the Howard University Museum, as well as in private collections all around the world.

Featured Work:

PFF137 - "Love Day," Mixed media on paper, 1963, 39 x 34 in.

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Latoya Hobbs Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, LaToya Hobbs is an artist best known for her large-scale portraits. She enrolled in the University of Arkansas to study biology until she realized that art was her true passion. After earning her BA in painting in 2009, she went on to pursue an MFA in printmaking from Purdue University in 2013. She currently works as a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Hobb’s works highlight the ideas of black beauty and cultural identity that center around being a woman. By combining different mediums in a single piece, she produces works that are “marked by texture, color, and bold patterns.” She has earned many prestigious awards, including the 2020 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize in Baltimore, the 2020 Artist in Residence at Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans, and the 2019 Artist Travel Grant from the Municipal Art Society of Baltimore. Her works are part of private and public collections, including the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the National Art Gallery of Namibia, the Getty Research Institute, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Featured Works: LaToya Hobbs, “Chelsea,” woodcut on paper, 2012, 49 x 33 ½ in. & LaToya Hobbs, “Angelica,” woodcut on paper, 2012, 49 x 33 ½ in.