Varnette Honeywood
Encyclopedia
Varnette Patricia Honeywood (December 27, 1950 – September 12, 2010) was an American painter, writer, and businesswoman whose paintings and collages depicting African American
life hung on walls in interior settings for The Cosby Show
after Camille and Bill Cosby
had seen her art and started collecting some of her works. Her paintings also appeared on television on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, as well as on the TV series Amen
and 227
.
Honeywood was born on December 27, 1950, in Los Angeles, where she studied art as a teenager at the Chouinard Art Institute
. Her parents, Stepney and Lovie Honeywood, were elementary school teachers who had come to California from Louisiana and Mississippi. Honeywood earned her undergraduate degree in Art in 1972 from Spelman College
in Atlanta, the first historically black female school of higher education in the United States. (She would exhibit there in 1987.) She earned her master's degree from the University of Southern California
in 1974, where she majored in education.
As part of a community outreach program conducted by USC, Honeywood used her educational training to teach multicultural arts and crafts programs to minority children in the public schools. Her work, influenced by such artists as Romare Bearden
and Jacob Lawrence
showed black Americans in everyday life, in family and social settings. The time she spent visiting relatives in the South during her childhood, her college experience at Spelman and a 1977 trip to Nigeria
all provided themes for her paintings. She and her sister Stephanie established the greeting-card company Black Lifestyles with cards showing her brightly colored portraits depicting the daily life of African Americans, making it the first such company specializing in black themes.
Camille Cosby discovered Honeywood's work on note cards and she and her husband Bill Cosby
started collecting her works. This led to the inclusion of Honeywood's artwork, including her 1974 painting "Birthday", on the walls of the Huxtable living room on the set of The Cosby Show. She had been asked to create a painting to be included for the show's pilot and different examples of her paintings were cycled through during the show's run. She later created a mural as a backdrop for Cosby's television series Kids Say the Darndest Things
, and her art appeared in the television series Amen, 227 and A Different World. She worked together with Bill Cosby to create the characters and illustrations in the 12 books in the series, which became the basis for the Nick Jr.
series Little Bill. Cosby credited Honeywood with the positive depictions of African American life in which "you can see teenagers doing homework, a family cooking a meal, girls doing their hair", rather than showing "segregation, starving and homelessness".
Honeywood died at age 59 on September 12, 2010, in Los Angeles
after fighting cancer
for two years.
She was featured in the film Varnette Honeywood : a study of a young artist, in the book Contemporary Black biography. : Volume 54 (2006),
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...
life hung on walls in interior settings for The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
after Camille and Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
had seen her art and started collecting some of her works. Her paintings also appeared on television on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, as well as on the TV series Amen
Amen (TV series)
Amen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that ran from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991 on NBC. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen starred Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s...
and 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
.
Honeywood was born on December 27, 1950, in Los Angeles, where she studied art as a teenager at the Chouinard Art Institute
Chouinard Art Institute
The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 in Los Angeles, California, by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard .-Founder:...
. Her parents, Stepney and Lovie Honeywood, were elementary school teachers who had come to California from Louisiana and Mississippi. Honeywood earned her undergraduate degree in Art in 1972 from Spelman College
Spelman College
Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...
in Atlanta, the first historically black female school of higher education in the United States. (She would exhibit there in 1987.) She earned her master's degree from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1974, where she majored in education.
As part of a community outreach program conducted by USC, Honeywood used her educational training to teach multicultural arts and crafts programs to minority children in the public schools. Her work, influenced by such artists as Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden was an African American artist and writer. He worked in several media including cartoons, oils, and collage.-Education:...
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...
showed black Americans in everyday life, in family and social settings. The time she spent visiting relatives in the South during her childhood, her college experience at Spelman and a 1977 trip to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
all provided themes for her paintings. She and her sister Stephanie established the greeting-card company Black Lifestyles with cards showing her brightly colored portraits depicting the daily life of African Americans, making it the first such company specializing in black themes.
Camille Cosby discovered Honeywood's work on note cards and she and her husband Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
started collecting her works. This led to the inclusion of Honeywood's artwork, including her 1974 painting "Birthday", on the walls of the Huxtable living room on the set of The Cosby Show. She had been asked to create a painting to be included for the show's pilot and different examples of her paintings were cycled through during the show's run. She later created a mural as a backdrop for Cosby's television series Kids Say the Darndest Things
Kids Say the Darndest Things
Kids Say the Darndest Things is an American comedy series hosted by Bill Cosby that aired on CBS as a special on February 6, 1995 then as a full season from January 9, 1998 to June 23, 2000...
, and her art appeared in the television series Amen, 227 and A Different World. She worked together with Bill Cosby to create the characters and illustrations in the 12 books in the series, which became the basis for the Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
series Little Bill. Cosby credited Honeywood with the positive depictions of African American life in which "you can see teenagers doing homework, a family cooking a meal, girls doing their hair", rather than showing "segregation, starving and homelessness".
Honeywood died at age 59 on September 12, 2010, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
after fighting cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
for two years.
She was featured in the film Varnette Honeywood : a study of a young artist, in the book Contemporary Black biography. : Volume 54 (2006),