Georgette Seabrooke
Encyclopedia
Georgette Seabrooke is an American
muralist, artist, illustrator, art therapist and educator.
, and grew up in the New York City
neighborhood of Yorkville, Manhattan
. Her mother, widowed when Georgette was a child, was domestic housekeeper, and Georgette started working with her mother. She graduated from Washington Irving High School
. She studied with James Wells at the Harlem Art Workshop, and with Gwendolyn B. Bennett
at the Harlem Community Art Center.
When the Harlem Hospital Center
mural project selected her to receive a commission (her work Recreation in Harlem), she was the youngest master artist to attended the prestigious Cooper Union
in New York City and became an award-winning art student. At age 18, in 1935, the Federal Art Project
(FAP) for the Works Progress Administration
(WPA) chose Seabrooke for a mural at Queen's General Hospital, Long Island (the required age was supposed to be 21).
After Seabrooke got married and started a family with three children, she began illustrating calendars and magazines.
She went to Fordham University
and studied theater design. Seabrooke moved to Washington, D.C.
in 1959. She founded Operation Heritage Art Center, now known as Tomorrow's World Art Center, in 1970. In 1972 she became a registered art therapist, and the following year earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts
from Howard University
. She was very active in combining art with mental-health therapy, teaching at the Tomorrow's World Art Center and at Malcolm X Park for the "Art in the Park" events.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
muralist, artist, illustrator, art therapist and educator.
Biography
Seabrooke was born in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, and grew up in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
neighborhood of Yorkville, Manhattan
Yorkville, Manhattan
Yorkville is a neighborhood in the greater Upper East Side, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 72nd Street to the south. However, its southern boundary is a subject of...
. Her mother, widowed when Georgette was a child, was domestic housekeeper, and Georgette started working with her mother. She graduated from Washington Irving High School
Washington Irving High School (New York City)
Washington Irving High School is located at 40 Irving Place between East 16th and 17th Streets the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
. She studied with James Wells at the Harlem Art Workshop, and with Gwendolyn B. Bennett
Gwendolyn B. Bennett
Gwendolyn B. Bennett was an African American writer who contributed to Opportunity, which chronicled cultural advancements in Harlem. Though often overlooked, she herself made considerable accomplishments in poetry and prose...
at the Harlem Community Art Center.
When the Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center is a 272-bed public, municipally owned teaching hospital in New York City founded in 1887. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue at 135th Street in the Harlem community of Manhattan.-Overview:...
mural project selected her to receive a commission (her work Recreation in Harlem), she was the youngest master artist to attended the prestigious Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
in New York City and became an award-winning art student. At age 18, in 1935, the Federal Art Project
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
(FAP) for the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA) chose Seabrooke for a mural at Queen's General Hospital, Long Island (the required age was supposed to be 21).
After Seabrooke got married and started a family with three children, she began illustrating calendars and magazines.
She went to Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
and studied theater design. Seabrooke moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1959. She founded Operation Heritage Art Center, now known as Tomorrow's World Art Center, in 1970. In 1972 she became a registered art therapist, and the following year earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. She was very active in combining art with mental-health therapy, teaching at the Tomorrow's World Art Center and at Malcolm X Park for the "Art in the Park" events.
Works
- Grandmothers's Birthday - Johnson Publishing Company - Chicago, Illinois
- Hampton Institute - Hampton, Virginia
- New York Public Library - New York City, New York
- Anacostia Museum - Washington D.C.
- Library of Congress - Washington D.C.
- Baltimore Museum of Art - Baltimore, Maryland
- Chicago Public Library - Chicago, Illinois
- Center for African American History and Culture - Washington D.C.
Awards
- 1935: Cooper Union School of Fine Arts - Silver medal for painting
- 2001: Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts
- 2002: D.C. Hall of Fame Society - Legacy Award
- 2005: Duke Ellington School of Arts
- 2008: Art Therapy Pioneer Award - American Art Therapy AssociationAmerican Art Therapy AssociationThe American Art Therapy Association is a U.S. national professional association of over 5,000 practicing art therapists, students, educators, and related practitioners in the field of art therapy, with both U.S. and international members...
Exhibits
- 1993: "Radiance and Reality" (one woman show) - Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
- 1995: "Art Changes Things" - Smithsonian Institution - Anacostia Museum
Further reading
- Farrington, Lisa E., (2005). - Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists. - New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195167214
- Heller, Jules and Nancy G. Heller, (1995). - North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. - New York: Garland. ISBN 9780824060497
External links
- Recreation in Harlem - Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...