The West Virginia University Humanities Center recently awarded the School of Art and Design’s Rhonda Reymond a grant to support her new book, which explores the challenges and triumphs faced by two Black West Virginian artists.
In the world of Art History, the journeys of Black artists are often overlooked. The West Virginia University Humanities Center recently awarded the School of Art and Design’s Rhonda Reymond a grant to support her new book, which explores the challenges and triumphs faced by two Black West Virginian artists.
An associate professor and Art History coordinator, Reymond is an accomplished author who uncovers and explores the history of Black artists in the United States. Her new book, “Richard Lonsdale Brown and Joseph E. Dodd: Two Black Appalachians and Paths to Artistic Professionalization in the Early Twentieth Century,” will feature the true stories of Brown and Dodd, two Black artists who were successful in their field during segregation. In addition to making space in the art world, the two stories intertwine at some of the most important moments in Black history.
“They lived lives dedicated to their art. Researching them reveals they were singular individuals, and yet their experiences open a window into a variety of ways Black artists gained training in the early twentieth century,” -rhonda reymondThe grant supports Reymond’s archival research, including a trip to Chicago, Illinois, to study the official West Virginia Commission for the American Negro Exposition held there in 1940.
“Although billed at the time as “the first real NEGRO WORLD’S FAIR in all history” (Official Program and Guidebook), there has yet to be a single monograph dedicated to this important event,” Reymond said. “There have been a few articles and book chapters on the fair, but nothing at all about West Virginia’s participation, including that of Dodd or even the presidents of West Virginia State Collegiate Institute and Bluefield State Teachers’ College who were also on the commission. Significantly, West Virginia was the only state to have its own exhibition space at the Exposition in the Chicago Coliseum. My research addresses this gap in literature.”
By exploring Brown and Dodd’s stories, readers will gain a better understanding of their lives and the challenges faced throughout history by Black artists in the United States.
“There is still much to recover about Black artists in the U.S. The archival research for this project is extensive, and yet there have been so many erasures and gaps in sources that it is a subtext of the book,” Reymond said. “Both Brown and Dodd died relatively young, while still gaining artistic training and before reaching their full potential. Neither are well-known artists today, although Brown’s national reputation was rapidly rising at the time of his passing. As lesser known, professionally trained artists, and as Black West Virginians their stories are important to tell.”
For more information on the Art History program, visit artanddesign.wvu.edu.