1930s
1931
June 7. Born in Eatonton, Georgia.
1936
Moves to Ellenboro, North Carolina.
1937–49
Attends public Schools in North Carolina.
Above: David Driskell in his apartment in Washington, DC (detail), September, 1949. Photograph by Jessie Ford. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0003
1940s
1949
Graduates (salutatorian) from Grahamtown High School in Forest City, North Carolina.
September. Takes train to Washington, DC, to attend Howard University. Since he missed registration three weeks before, audits classes for the first half of the year. Professors allow him to learn in these courses until his enrollment is official.
Left: David Driskell and others, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Madison, Maine, summer, 1953. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell. MS01.11.01.P0012
Right: David Driskell (1931-2020) Young Pines Growing, 1959, oil on canvas, 40 3/4 x 30 3/4 inches. Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, John Hope Franklin Purchase Award. © Estate of David C. Driskell
1950s
1950
Officially enrolls as a student at Howard University, expects to major in history.
1951
Enrolls in first art class, taught by James Lesesne Wells. Meets James A. Porter, who encourages him to change his major to art.
1952
January 9. Marries Thelma Deloatch.
October 15. Birth of Daviryne Mari Driskell.
1952–55
At Howard University, studies with James Lesesne Wells, Loïs Mailou Jones, James A. Porter, James V. Herring, and Morris Louis. Majors in painting and art history. Receives scholastic scholarships in art. Serves as assistant to Albert J. Carter, curator of Howard University Gallery of Art.
Assists James V. Herring and Alonzo Aden at Barnett Aden Gallery, Washington, DC.
1953
Receives scholarship to study at Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in Madison, Maine.
November 24. Birth of Daphne Joyce Driskell.
1955
BA in fine arts, Howard University.
1955–62
Assistant professor of art, Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama.
1956
Paints Behold Thy Son, a tribute to the brutally murdered Emmet Till.
First solo exhibition, at Savery Art Gallery, Talladega College.
Attends first College Art Association meeting in Pittsburgh and becomes a member.
1957
First solo exhibition at Barnett Aden Gallery.
1958–62
Pursues MFA degree at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Nell Sonnemann serves as primary adviser.
1959
Attends founding convention of National Conference of Negro Artists in Atlanta.
Young Pines Growing selected for John Hope Purchase Award for Painting, Atlanta University Annual. Receives honorable mention for Red and Blue Still Life.
Above: David Driskell painting outdoors, Talladega College, 1959 (detail). Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0042
1960s
1961
Purchases property in Falmouth, Maine.
1961–62
Wins awards in graphic arts, Atlanta University Annuals.
Danforth Foundation Fellowship in Art to study at Catholic University of America.
1961–63
Director, Barnett Aden Gallery.
1962
MFA, The Catholic University of America.
Second solo exhibition at Barnett Aden Gallery.
1962–66
Associate professor of art, Howard University.
1963
Purchases home on Buchanan Street in Washington, DC.
1963–64; 1965–66
Acting chair, Department of Art, and acting director, Gallery of Art, Howard University.
1964
Summer. Travels to Europe on a museum study tour through fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation and Harmon Foundation. Visits Greece, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Denmark, and England. Studies museology and art history at Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, on a Dutch fellowship.
1966–76
Professor of art and chairman, Art Department, Fisk University, Nashville.
1967
Rockefeller Foundation Faculty Research Grant, Fisk University.
1969
American Film Institute grant to set up film courses at Fisk University.
Travels to West Africa: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Left: David Driskell (1931-2020) Still Life with Sunset, 1966, oil on canvas, 48 x 32 inches. Collection of Joseph and Lynne Horning, Washington, DC. © Estate of David C. Driskell, courtesy DC Moore Gallery, New York
Right: David Driskell painting in his studio, Washington, DC, circa 1965. Photograph by Ralph A. Mauldin. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0111
1970s
1970
Visiting professor, Institute of African Studies, University of lfe (now Obafemi Awolowo University), lle-lfe, Nigeria.
Rockefeller Foundation Faculty Research Grant, Fisk University.
At College Art Association annual meeting, Washington, DC, gives a paper in one of the first CAA sessions devoted to African American art. James A. Porter chairs the panel.
Attends the Conference on the Functional Aspects of Black Art (CONFABA), organized by Jeff Donaldson and others at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
1971
Collaborates with J. Edward Atkinson on Black Dimensions in Contemporary American Art.
1972
Guest curator for traveling exhibition of art by William H. Johnson, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Receives US State Department State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) for African lectureship. Travels to South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Liberia.
Receives US Information Agency supplementary grant for European lectureship. Travels to Italy, Denmark, Sweden, and England.
1973
Spring term, visiting professor, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine.
Visiting professor, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine.
June 25. Death of father, Reverend G. W. Driskell.
August. The Recent Work of David Driskell: Paintings and Prints opens at Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
1974–76
Guest curator, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
1975
Purchase award, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock.
Printmaking instructor, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine.
Amistad II: Afro-American Art, curated by Driskell, opens at Fisk University and travels to other venues. Includes catalog with essay by Driskell.
Adjunct professor, Vanderbilt University, Nashville.
1976
Two Centuries of Black American Art, curated by Driskell, opens at Los Angeles County Museum of Art and travels to the High Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, and the Brooklyn Museum. Includes catalog with essay by Driskell.
Visiting artist, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.
1976–80
Board of Governors, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. Serves again in 1982-89, then becomes a trustee.
1977
Hidden Heritage, 1750-1950, a CBS Cultural News Special, documentary film. Driskell serves as narrator and scriptwriter (national affiliates viewing, 1977, 1978, 1982).
1977–98
Professor of art, Department of Art, University of Maryland, College Park. Driskell family settles in Hyattsville, Maryland, in 1977.
1978
Resident faculty, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.
1978–83
Chair, Department of Art, University of Maryland.
1979
Solo exhibition at Center for the Visual Arts Gallery, Illinois State University, Normal.
David Driskell (1931-2020) Woman with Flowers, 1972 (detail), oil and collage on canvas, 37 1/2 x 38 1/2 inches. Art Bridges, Bentonville, Arkansas, AB.2018.3. © Estate of David C. Driskell
1980s
1980
Fellow, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York.
David Driskell: A Survey, curated by Richard Klank and Edith A. Tonelli, opens at University of Maryland Art Gallery. This exhibition includes a catalog with an essay by Keith Morrison and a conversation between Driskell and Klank.
1981
Distinguished Alumni Award for academic achievement in art and education, Howard University.
1985
Hidden Heritage: Afro-American Art, 1800-1950, curated by Driskell, opens at Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, Washington, and travels to several other museums across the country. Includes catalog with essay by Driskell.
1986
Governor's Award, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, in honor of scholarship and curatorial practices.
1987
Travels as a curator and consultant to Tokyo, Japan, with other African American artists, including William T. Williams.
Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America, curated by Driskell and Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, opens at The Studio Museum in Harlem and travels to other museums across the country. Includes catalog with essay by Driskell.
Spring term, United Negro College Fund Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Talladega College.
Contemporary Visual Expressions: The Art of Sam Gilliam, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Keith Morrison, William T. Williams, curated by Driskell, opens at Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum, Washington, DC. Includes catalog with essay by Driskell.
1989
Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing.
lntrospectives: Contemporary Art by Americans and Brazilians of African Descent, curated by Driskell and Henry John Drewal, opens at California Afro-American Museum, Los Angeles. Exhibition travels to Bronx Museum of the Arts. Includes catalog with essay by Driskell.
1989–2003
Board of Trustees, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.
Left: David Driskell in his studio, Yaddo artists' colony, Saratoga Springs, New York, summer, 1980. Photograph by and © Francis Giles Photography. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0323
Right: David Driskell (1931-2020) Yaddo Circle, 1980, egg tempera and gouache on handmade paper, 45 x 31 inches. Collection of the Estate of David C. Driskell, Maryland. Photograph by Stephen Bates. © Estate of David C. Driskell and DC Moore Gallery, New York
1990s
1990
Narrates Hidden Heritage: The Roots of Black American Painting, a film produced by Maureen McCue for the Arts Council of Great Britain. The film, which premieres in London, examines artists from the American Revolution to World War II.
1991
August 26. Death of mother, Mary Lou Cloud Driskell.
Dedication of new sanctuary, Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, DC, featuring two stained glass windows designed by Driskell.
1992
Mixed-media instructor, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
1993–94
American Academy of Arts and Letters award.
1995–98
Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland. Upon retirement, continues to hold title as emeritus.
1996
National Art Education Association Annual Award, San Francisco.
Dedication of DeForest Chapel, Talladega College, featuring sixty-five stained glass windows designed by Driskell.
1997
President's Medal, University of Maryland.
1998
Retires from University of Maryland.
Narratives of African American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection, curated by Juanita Holland and Terry Gips, opens at University of Maryland Art Gallery. Exhibition highlights one hundred artworks from the Driskell collection, includes a catalog, and travels for three years.
Echoes: The Art of David Driskell, curated by Adrienne L. Childs, open at University of Maryland Art Gallery. Travels to other venues.
Faculty for Open Door workshop, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
Jacob Lawrence and David Driskell at Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Madison, Maine, July, 1996 (detail). Photograph by Sandra Epps. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0540
2000s
2000
National Humanities Medal, presented by President Bill Clinton, Washington, DC.
2001
David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora opens at University of Maryland.
Painting and drawing instructor, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
2002
Frederick Douglass Award, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.
Governor's Arts Award [Maryland], presented by Governor Parris Nelson Glendening, Baltimore.
Launches David C. Driskell Series of African American Art with Pomegranate Communications. The monograph publication series is devoted to African American artists including Charles White, Betye Saar, Faith Ringgold, Archibald J. Motley Jr., Keith Morrison, Charles Alston, Margo Humphrey, and Hughie Lee-Smith.
2002–7
Board of Trustees, Maine College of Art (MEGA), Portland.
2002
MEGA Award for National Leadership, Maine College of Art.
2003–5
Board of Trustees, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore.
2004
Faculty, Maine Art Education workshop, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
High Museum of Art in Atlanta establishes annual David C. Driskell Prize, first awarded in 2005.
2005
Special honoree, sixteenth annual James A. Porter Colloquium, Howard University, on the centennial anniversary of Porter's birth.
2006
David C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar by Julie L. McGee (Petaluma, CA: Pomegranate Communications) is published.
David C. Driskell: Fragments of Color, curated by Scott Habes, opens at University of Maryland Art Gallery.
David Driskell: Painting Across the Decade, 1996-2006 opens at Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport and travels in 2006-7 to DC Moore Gallery, New York; Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan; and Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
Brandywine Lifetime Achievement Award, Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia.
2007
Elected as a National Academician by the National Academy of Design.
Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking by David C. Driskell, curated by Adrienne L. Childs, is the first exhibition of Driskell's prints and the inaugural exhibition at the David C. Driskell Center's new gallery space. Catalog published by Pomegranate Communications. Exhibition travels nationally.
Left: David Driskell (1931-2020) Night Vision (for Jacob Lawrence), 2005, collage and gouache on paper, 16 1/2 x 22 inches. Collection of Richard and Barbara Schiffrin, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Photograph by Sandra Paci. © Estate of David C. Driskell, courtesy DC Moore Gallery, New York
Right: David Driskell, Falmouth, Maine, circa 2000. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0669
2010s
2011
Creative Spirit: The Art of David C. Driskell, co-curated by Julie L. McGee and Adrienne L. Childs, opens at David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland. Catalog published by Driskell Center. Exhibition travels to DC Moore Gallery, New York.
2016
Receives the Lifetime Legacy Award from the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.
2018
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Jacob Lawrence and David Driskell at Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Madison, Maine, July, 1996 (detail). Photograph by Sandra Epps. Courtesy of the David C. Driskell Papers at the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Prof. and Mrs. David C. Driskell, MS01.11.01.P0540
2020s
2020
April 1. Passes away in a hospital near his Maryland home.
Much of the content for this chronology was originally published in Julie L. McGee's biography, David. C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar (Petaluma, CA: Pomegranate Communications, 2006). It has been revised and expanded by Monet Timmons.
David Driskell at the Portland Museum of Art's Friends of the Collection Benefit, Hannaford Hall, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, August 22, 2019.