Robert Blackburn (artist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Blackburn was an African American
artist, teacher and printmaker.
Born Robert Hamilton Blackburn in Summit, New Jersey
in 1920, he grew up in Harlem
. He attended P.S. 139, where his English teacher was Countee Cullen
, and later, DeWitt Clinton High School
in the Bronx, where he worked on the literary magazine, The Magpie, as a writer and artist.. At the Harlem Art Center operated by the Works Progress Administration
, he studied lithography
and other print-making techniques with Riva Helfond, and frequented the Uptown Community Workshop, a gathering place for black artists and writers such as Langston Hughes
, Richard Wright
and Jacob Lawrence
.
From early prints which portrayed figures on abstract backgrounds, he moved into more abstract work. In 1941, a scholarship to the Art Students League made it possible for him to study painting with Vaclav Vytlacil and lithography with Will Barnet
, who became his friend. In 1948, Barnet helped Blackburn established the Printmaking Workshop, an 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) loft at 55 West 17th Street in New York City. In 1956, when the Printmaking Workshop struggled financially and faced the threat of closing, fellow artist and printmaker Chaim Koppelman devised a means to save the studio by transforming it into a cooperative with annual dues. Blackburn credited Koppelman with saving the Workshop, and in 1992, Blackburn, Barnet, and Koppelman received a New York Artists Equity Award for their "dedicated service to the printmaking community."
In 1988, Robert Blackburn and the nonprofit Printmaking Workshop received a Governor's Art Award from the New York State Council on the Arts. He received a MacArthur fellowship
in 1992. He died in New York City
in 2003. On September 18, 2003, the Great Hall of Cooper Union
in New York city held an exhibition and memorial to honor the work of this master printer, artist, and teacher. Blackburn's early work at DeWitt Clinton High School, where classmates included artists Burton Hasen, David Finn and Harold Altman, was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 2009.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
artist, teacher and printmaker.
Born Robert Hamilton Blackburn in Summit, New Jersey
Summit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
in 1920, he grew up in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. He attended P.S. 139, where his English teacher was Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen was an American poet who was popular during the Harlem Renaissance.- Biography :Cullen was an American poet and a leading figure with Langston Hughes in the Harlem Renaissance. This 1920s artistic movement produced the first large body of work in the United States written by African...
, and later, DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
in the Bronx, where he worked on the literary magazine, The Magpie, as a writer and artist.. At the Harlem Art Center operated by 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...
, he studied lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
and other print-making techniques with Riva Helfond, and frequented the Uptown Community Workshop, a gathering place for black artists and writers such as Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
, Richard Wright
Richard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
and Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was an American painter; he was married to fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", though by his own account the primary influence was not so much French art as the shapes and colors of Harlem.Lawrence is among the best-known twentieth...
.
From early prints which portrayed figures on abstract backgrounds, he moved into more abstract work. In 1941, a scholarship to the Art Students League made it possible for him to study painting with Vaclav Vytlacil and lithography with Will Barnet
Will Barnet
Will Barnet is an American artist known for his paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints depicting the human figure and animals, both in casual scenes of daily life and in transcendent dreamlike worlds.-Biography:...
, who became his friend. In 1948, Barnet helped Blackburn established the Printmaking Workshop, an 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) loft at 55 West 17th Street in New York City. In 1956, when the Printmaking Workshop struggled financially and faced the threat of closing, fellow artist and printmaker Chaim Koppelman devised a means to save the studio by transforming it into a cooperative with annual dues. Blackburn credited Koppelman with saving the Workshop, and in 1992, Blackburn, Barnet, and Koppelman received a New York Artists Equity Award for their "dedicated service to the printmaking community."
In 1988, Robert Blackburn and the nonprofit Printmaking Workshop received a Governor's Art Award from the New York State Council on the Arts. He received a MacArthur fellowship
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
in 1992. He died in 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...
in 2003. On September 18, 2003, the Great Hall of 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 held an exhibition and memorial to honor the work of this master printer, artist, and teacher. Blackburn's early work at DeWitt Clinton High School, where classmates included artists Burton Hasen, David Finn and Harold Altman, was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 2009.