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.
