ARTNOIR SHOWCASE AFRO-ART HISTORY 101
WILLIAM ELLISWORTH ARTIS (1914-1977).
Porter wrote in MODERN NEGRO ART that Artis "sought to convey...a sense of divine in human character...[his] technic alone could never account for the sympathic humor and shrewd observation of the tender lyricism in his heads of children. His portraits are based on the sure designer's instinct that lives in every good ceramist".
Artis moved to New York from Washington, NC, in 1927. He studied scupture and pottery at Augusta Savage Studios in the early 1930s. He participated in the Harmon Foundation exhibition in 1933 - it was noted that his sculptures "portray a deep sensitive for human feelings." He received the John Hope Prize which led to a scholarship at the Art Students League in 1933-34. He was hired by Audrey McMahon, the director of the College Art Association, along with several other artists to teach crafts and paint murals in churches and neighborhood centers.
In 1950 he received his Bachelors in Fine Arts, and in 1951 his Masters in Fine Arts from Syracuse University, where he studied with the sculptor Ivan Mestrovic who had a significant impact on his work. From 1956 to 1966 he was Professor of Ceramics at Nebraska Teachers College and from 1966 to 1975 he was Professor of Art at Mankato State College.
A joint retrospective exhibition was held in 1971 at Fisk University entitled Paintings by Ellis Wilson, Ceramics and Sculpture by Wiliam E. Artis curated by David Driskell. He is featured in Against the Odds, an exhibition of African American Artists from the Harmon Foundation.
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