Samella Lewis: World Building in African American Art History

Bringing critical focus to the groundbreaking work of artist, curator, and scholar Samella Lewis

Black and white photograph of a female figure sitting on a chair in front of a chalkboard with a complicated line drawing of a color wheel, and various art works

Lewis in front of a chalkboard, no date. Samella S. Lewis Papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

About

Goal

Contextualizing Samella Lewis’s significant influence as an artist, curator, and scholar within larger art historical movements, Samella Lewis: World Building in African American Art History contributes to a more inclusive understanding of American art history. After spending her formative years at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lewis became a prominent figure in the Southern California art scene. This project examines how these experiences shaped Lewis’s multivalent contributions to the fields of African American art, diasporic art history, and American culture more broadly.

Background

Samella Lewis (1923–2022) was the first African American woman to earn a PhD in art history in 1951, which launched her decades-long career.

Partners

This project is a collaboration with Emory University’s Rose Library, which houses Lewis’s papers.