Classical nude (1944) Painting by Coni Uzelac

The outpouring of interest that has come about in recent years on the subject of African American art would come as no surprise to James A. Porter, if he were alive today. The preeminent scholar on this subject, he paved the way for other scholars, collectors, and patrons of art to see the importance of the subject and to assess its relevant role as part and parcel of the larger field of American art, long before it was popular to do so.

Porter’s committed pursuit of scholarly research in the field is commensurate with the vigilance of the prophet, whose vision of what lies ahead is seldom heeded in his or her lifetime. But life does not always honor with longevity those who deserve to hear their accolades spoken aloud in their own lifetime. Yet, long after such visionaries are no longer physically with us, we who witnessed their gifts of the spirit continue to profit beyond measure as we share their artistry and scholarship with future generations.

Porter bequeathed to those who have come after him an unusual legacy, the fruit of a creative mind whose eminence in art education was of such magnitude that he has been accorded a singular place in the history of African American art. Much of what we know about the cultural legacy that Blacks in the visual arts inherited from their African forebearers has come to us by way of his writings. Porter’s Modern Negro Art the classic work on the subject, was the first such book to denote and define the African impulse in the visual arts in the United States. Without his knowledge and constant vision of the role that artists of African descent played in American visual culture, many of us who attempt to carry on this noble tradition and to correct the omissions so inherent in African art history would be without the guidance we extol to others.

I am one, among many such persons, who, blessed beyond account, benefited thoroughly from Porter’s wisdom and wise counsel. He served as my mentor at Howard University, where I studied the history of art and the practice of painting as an under-graduate. He inspired me to see art, particularly the practice of painting, as a necessary accompaniment to the study of art history, and I learned from him the dual pursuit of these noble endeavors.

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Artist and educator David Driskell is Professor of Art at the University of Maryland, College Park. He earned an AB degree from Howard University and a MFA from Catholic University, and he has served on the faculties of Howard and Fisk Universities. He has received numerous honors and awards, including several honorary Doctor of Philosophy degrees. He is a member of many organizations and serves on the board of directors of the National Museum of African Art and the American Federation of Arts.
Time will not permit, however, a personal account here of the influence that Porter had on my life as I have pursued both painting and writing, nor indepth commentary on the role of his own...

• Nationality: UNITED STATES
• Date of birth : unknown date
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary American Artists