Huey Copeland, BFC Presidential Associate Professor of History of Art, was awarded the 2024 James A. Porter and David C. Driskell Award in African American Art History for a volume on modernism and Black artists.
The Porter/Driskell Award acknowledges scholarly contributions on historical themes related to African American visual culture, according to the Penn Arts & Sciences news article. “Black Modernisms in the Transatlantic World,” which Copeland co-edited, compiles essays from nine prominent scholars and practitioners in the field.
Copeland edited the volume alongside Steven Nelson, dean of the National Gallery’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts. In their essays, scholars examine the work of Black artists such as photographer Roy DeCarava, painter Norman Lewis, and sculptor Augusta Savage. The book seeks to dismantle prevailing modernist narratives in the Western art world and progress towards a more intersectional future for art history.
Copeland’s work explores African/Diasporic, American, and European art from the late 18th century to the present, with a particular focus on “articulations of blackness in the Western visual field.” He holds a secondary appointment in Africana Studies and serves as an editor of the art criticism journal OCTOBER. He also curates exhibitions and international conferences.
The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora was established in 2001 to honor David Driskell, a leading artist and professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Art. The center aims to preserve African American visual art and provide an intellectual hub for those broadening the field of African diasporic studies.
In 2019, the High Museum of Art awarded Copeland the David C. Driskell Prize in recognition of his contributions to the field of African-American art history. Copeland, who was a professor of art history at Northwestern University at the time, received $25,000 to support his scholarship.
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