Benny Andrews

About

Benny Andrews (1930-2006) was an American artist, activist, educator, and advocate known for his expressive figurative paintings and collages that incorporated fabric and mixed media to explore themes of Black life, American history, social justice, and the human spirit. Born in rural Plainview, Georgia, to sharecropper parents, he was the first in his family to graduate high school and used the G.I. Bill to earn a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1958, where he developed his signature collage technique influenced by abstract expressionism, surrealism, social realism, and street life. After moving to New York City that year, he immersed himself in the art scene, began exhibiting widely, taught at Queens College for nearly three decades starting in 1968, and became a pivotal figure in advocating for artists of color and women through co-founding the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition (BECC) in 1969 in response to exclusions at major museums like the Met's 'Harlem on My Mind' exhibition. Andrews' activism extended to curating exhibitions, establishing prison arts education programs, and serving as Director of the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts from 1982 to 1984. His notable works include the Bicentennial Series (1970-1976), which reimagined American history from a Black perspective, as well as pieces like 'Hmmmmm,' 'Old Woman Eating,' 'Homage' (1989), and others addressing slavery, the Holocaust, and cultural narratives. With his second wife, artist Nene Humphrey, he founded the Benny Andrews Foundation to promote diverse access to art. His style defied easy categorization, blending raw tension with celebration of the pursuit of the American Dream, and he resided in New York until his death in November 2006.

Expressive figurative expressionism with collage elements, influenced by abstract expressionism, surrealism, and social realism