Carl Owens was an American artist. His professional experience in the Art began as an illustrator in the U.S. Army. Later, he taught art in the Detroit Public Schools

Detroit Public Schools

Detroit Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The student population of the Detroit Public Schools is about 65,971 , which is down about 9.7% from the previous school year. Detroit Public Charter Schools educate an additional 56,000...

 and served as staff artist for the school system. He was a member of the National Conference of Artists and worked as a self-employed artist from 1968 until his death.

In addition to numerous private collections, his fine art has been on exhibition at: The Whitney Museum of American Art

Whitney Museum of American Art

The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...

, New York; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; The Art Institute of Chicago; the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum

M. H. de Young Memorial Museum

The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, commonly called simply the de Young Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It is named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H...

, San Francisco; the Detroit Institute of Arts

Detroit Institute of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...

; the Cincinnati Art Museum

Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is one of the oldest art museums in the United States. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies. Its collection of over 60,000 works make it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Midwest.Museum founders debated locating...

; the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, Washington, DC; the North American Black Historical Museum

North American Black Historical Museum

The Nazrey African Methodist Episcopal Church National Historic Site and North American Black Historical Museum are located in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada....

, Ontario, Canada; the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is located in the Cultural Center of the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1965, it holds the world's largest permanent exhibit on African American culture. In 1997, it moved into a 120,000 square foot facility on Warren Avenue...

, Detroit, Michigan; and the Detroit Historical Museum

Detroit Historical Museum

The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Avenue in the city's Cultural Center Historic District in Midtown Detroit. It chronicles the history of the Detroit area from cobblestone streets, 19th century stores, the auto assembly line, toy trains, fur trading from the 18th century,...

.

In the early 1990s Carl Owens relocated to Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. Eventually, he held regular "life drawing" classes during the evening in his studio with other African-American artists. The informal class grew to become an important monthly event which now continues at Spelman College.

Carl Owens died December 11, 2002. He was survived by his two sons Duane and Brian R. Owens, a professional sculptor and painter with a studio based near Orlando, Florida.

Awards

• the New York Society of Illustrators Citation for Merit
• Outstanding Artist Award, Michigan Chapter
• National Conference of Artists
• the Mayor's Award of Merit
• the American Black Artists Pioneer Award
• the Optimists International Certificate of Appreciation for Community Service
• the American Black Artists Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Arts
• The National Conference of Artists First Afrikan World Festival Award
• Testimonial Resolution and Spirit of Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council

Paintings

• Great Kings of Africa
• Soul of a Nation
• Roots, Stems and Flowers
• Ford Salutes the Black Composer
• Ingenious Americans
• The Life of Frederick Douglass
• A Picture History of the Afro-American