13 paintings, prints, and drawings by Dr. Samella Lewis, internationally recognized artist, historian, and arts educator, are now on display through December 21 in a special exhibition in the Hampton Room of the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Commons at Scripps College. In conjunction with this exhibit, Dr. Lewis, the first tenured African American faculty member at Scripps, will present "Visual Expressions: Past and Present Experiences," a lecture on her life, her professional career, and her works on display, on October 3, at 7:30 p.m., also in the Hampton Room. Both exhibition and lecture are free and open to the public. Please call (909) 607-8508 for more information on the lecture, exhibition hours, or to arrange a tour.
This limited-run exhibit, "Samella Lewis: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1941-2000," honors Lewis’ longtime association with Scripps College and the recent creation of a scholarship in her name. Works slated for display are drawn from various periods in her career, including "The Word," "Creole Mules," and "Tenements," among others. Each unique piece explores – through use of vibrant color, varied subject matter, and diverse media – themes related to the African American experience: the struggle for freedom, humanity, voice, and opportunity for people of color.
Lewis’ contributions to and impact on the development, scholarship, and growing popular appeal of African American art are countless. In addition to her distinguished career as an artist, she is co-founder of the Los Angeles Museum of African American Art; founder of Contemporary Crafts, the first African American-owned art book publishing house; and co-founder of the magazine International Review of African American Art. In addition, Lewis produced four films on African American artists, and two highlights of her authorship are the first textbook on African American art history and Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, hailed by critics and historians alike as the definitive work to date on this subject. For her many efforts, she has repeatedly been honored by a number of prestigious institutions including the United States House of Representatives and the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities.
Lewis earned a doctoral degree from Ohio State University in 1951, becoming the first African American woman awarded a PhD. in art history and fine art. She then traveled to China as a Fulbright Fellow, expanding her breadth of study to include traditional Chinese art history and language.
Over the years, Lewis’ teaching career has encompassed courses in art history, the humanities, and fine arts at colleges and universities nationwide. Lewis was a member of the Scripps College faculty for 15 years, teaching both African and Asian art history. Honoring that association and her exemplary history as a role model for all women, the Samella Lewis Scholarship was recently established at Scripps, to be awarded to an African American student who has demonstrated academic achievement, excellence in character, and outstanding leadership.
For more information about Dr. Lewis’ lecture and for exhibition hours, please call the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Commons Office at (909) 607-8508. For information regarding the Samella Lewis Scholarship, please call Nancy Ambrose, Director of Major Gifts, at (909) 607-7533.