June 19 - September 12, 2021
The first-ever major exhibition of David Driskell’s remarkable career.
David C. Driskell (United States, 1931–2020), Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, 1972, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 36 inches. Tougaloo College Art Collections, Tougaloo, Mississippi. Purchased by Tougaloo College with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1973.084. Photograph by Mark Geil. © Estate of David C. Driskell.
David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History represents a landmark moment in American art: a major exhibition of artist, curator, and scholar David Driskell’s remarkable career as a painter. Driskell’s legacy in the history of American art is unparalleled: through his curatorial work, his writing, and his teaching, he pushed audiences to consider the American story inclusive of the art of Black people.
David Driskell (1931-2020) was long recognized for his vibrant and versatile painting and printmaking practice, which combines his sharp observation of American landscapes and his interest in the imagery and aesthetic innovations of the African diaspora. Although his first love was painting, his professional life was largely devoted to service for others: he taught generations of artists and art historians; mentored emerging artists and young faculty members, primarily at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); researched and wrote extensively about the artistic achievements of Black people throughout American history; and fostered the establishment of African and African-American Studies programs in American academia.
For decades, Driskell split his time between his home in Falmouth, Maine, and Hyattsville, Maryland.
The PMA is honored to organize this exhibition in partnership with the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, which brings together approximately 60 works together to present highlights of his career. The exhibition surveys seven decades of the artist’s painterly practice from the 1950s forward. His command of color and line and attentiveness to the symbolism of form is showcased through his subjects, including the natural world, remembrances of the Southern Black experience, and the Black Christian church. This exhibition features works from both public and private collections, including rarely seen works from the artist’s own collection.
The resulting exhibition tells a rich and vibrant story of art that is intrinsically tied to Maine and uniquely American.
DAVID DRISKELL (1931-2020) graduated from Howard University and received an MFA from Catholic University in 1962. In 1953, he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, which began for him a lifetime of connection to that organization as well as to the state of Maine. From 1955 through 1977, Driskell taught at several Talladega College, Howard University, and Fisk University; from 1977 through 1997, Driskell taught at the University of Maryland, College Park, which is now the home of the David C. Driskell Center, a research institute that houses Driskell’s archive as well as serves as a study center for the history of African American art and art of the African diaspora.
Programs and Events
In the Press
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About the Curators
Julie L. McGee is an art historian and curator. She co-curated the 2011 exhibition Creative Spirit: The Art of David C. Driskell for the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, College Park. Her current research is focused on the American-Dutch artist Sam Middleton (1927-2015) and transnational art history. McGee is Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Art History and Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware.
For more information, interview requests with curators, or anything else, please contact Graeme Kennedy, Director of Strategic Communications and Public Relations, via email or 207-699-4887
David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta and the Portland Museum of Art, Maine.
Major support for the exhibition has been provided by:
National tour sponsorship provided by:
Generously Supported by:
Isabelle and Scott Black
Danielle M. Conway and Emmanuel Quainoo
Corporate Support:
McCandless & Coburn LLC
The Bear Bookshop, Marlboro, VT
Foundation Support:
Lunder Foundation—The Peter and Paula Lunder Family
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
The educational resources and exhibition programming for David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History were made possible through the support and expertise of Indigo Arts Alliance. David C. Driskell was Indigo Arts Alliance inaugural elder advisor, mentor, and friend. Driskell’s legacy is honored through Indigo’s Black Seed Studio Artist-In-Residence and David C. Driskell Fellowship. A foundational aspect of Indigo Arts Alliance’s mission is to amplify and empower Black and Brown artists who enrich our local community. For more information about Black Seed Studio, please visit Indigo's website.
Generous support from the Friends of the Collection.
Established in 1983, the Friends of the Collection comprises individuals whose generosity directly supports the acquisition, conservation, and care for the collection as well as related programming. Our collection of more than 18,000 works of art is the heart of the institution, and the Friends of the Collection is instrumental in shaping and maintaining it.
Media Support
In-Kind support provided by:
This exhibition is part of Art for All
Art for All supports the PMA's dedication to being an open, accessible, inclusive, and welcoming museum for all, through exhibitions and programs that reflect our community and create experiences with art that strengthen our bonds and bring us together.
Individual Support
Anonymous (2)
Judy and John Adelman
Justin and Rachael Alfond
Louise Bessire
Mark and Aimée Bessire
Sheri and Joe Boulos
Beth L. De Tine
Patricia H. Dodd
Eileen Gillespie and Timothy Fahey
Shannon C. Gordon
Cyrus Hagge
Alison Hildreth
Douglas and Sharyn Howell
John and Hilary Isacke
Bree LaCasse and Chris Moore
Karen L. McDonald
Manny Morgan and Chris Corbett
Anne and Vince Oliviero
Alexander Porteous
Richard and Alice Spencer
Stewart and Elizabeth Strawbridge
Amy Woodhouse and Tobey Scott
Foundation Support
Elmina B. Sewall Foundation
Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, Inc.
P.W. Sprague Memorial Foundation
Corporate Sponsors
TD Bank, through the TD Charitable Foundation
Born in Eatonton, Georgia, David Driskell (1931–2020) was a revered American artist whose work inspired generations of artists and audiences alike. Icons of Nature and History reveals the artist’s aesthetic inheritances from home, family, the South, and his formative education—at Howard University, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, and the Catholic University of America—as well as the influence of his sojourns to Europe, Africa, and South America. His artistic evolution is marked by distinctive eras, experiences, and experiments with media. What remains steadfast in his paintings and collages is a commitment to a symbolic form that elevates the mind and the spirit above that which exists in the physical world: these are Driskell’s icons.
Spanning seven decades, this survey of Driskell’s art moves the center of critical art history to Driskell’s arenas: Washington, DC; Talladega, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee; Hyattsville, Maryland; and Falmouth, Maine. In so doing, it invites us to see American art more comprehensively and to appreciate the contributions of historically Black colleges and universities to this canon. Artists have the vision to see beyond the ordinary, Driskell tells us. Among the many gifts he bequeaths to us is the delight of seeing the world through his eyes, and it is a journey of immeasurable beauty and grace.
All works of art are by David Driskell unless otherwise noted.
Explore the exhibition online
Events and Programming
Missed an event? Catch it all here.
David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History Members Opening Program with Jessica May and Julie McGee, June 17, 2021
Indigo Arts Alliance presents Driskell's Legacy and the Land: Re-Contextualizing Environmental Justice, July 28, 2021
Bernard Osher Lecture with Dr. Adrienne L. Childs, David C. Driskell: Interiors, Objects, and the Spirit of Form, July 13, 2021
Indigo Arts Alliance and PMA Films presents a Conversation with Black Art: In The Absence of Light Filmmaker Sam Pollard, September 9, 2021
“When the indomitable human spirit rises above the chaos of violence, hunger and pain and soars to a heightened relief through the making of art, we are classless and raceless so long as we create the spiritual vision. As an artist of African ancestry, I have had to learn to live with racism, sexism and all of the prejudices. I often find refuge and, indeed, solace in the creative process. In the quiet of my small studio nestled in the majestic pines and white birches in Maine, two worlds merge in my work, one of sight, the other of vision. The beauty of nature and the creative world of the imaginations together express the joyous vision I have as an artist, responding to the spiritual urge within to fulfill my earthly task of making and creating my own beautiful world.”
Above: Frank Stewart, portrait of David Driskell in his studio, Falmouth, Maine, 2018. Photograph courtesy of and © Frank Stewart
About the curator
Julie L. McGee is an art historian and curator. She co-curated the 2011 exhibition Creative Spirit: The Art of David C. Driskell for the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, College Park. Her current research is focused on the American-Dutch artist Sam Middleton (1927-2015) and transnational art history. McGee is Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Art History and Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware.
