The fourth annual John Wilmerding Symposium on American Art honors the legacy of David C. Driskell (1931–2020), one of the world’s leading authorities on African American art, who passed away at age 88 from complications of COVID-19 on April 1. Held in partnership with the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the tribute honors his contribution as a distinguished university professor emeritus of art, and as an artist, art historian, collector, curator, and philanthropist. This compilation includes a keynote address from Julie L McGee entitled “Joy Cometh in the Morning,” a studio visit with Curlee Raven Holton, a discussion with Valerie Cassel Oliver “Torchbearer of a Legacy,” and Alivia J. Wardlaw’s “The Cultural Cartographer: The Invaluable Art Roadmaps of David C. Driskell.” This film is available to be licensed in digital format to affiliates.

Made possible by a grant from the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

57 minutes