Wikipedia

Benjamin Leroy Wigfall

Benjamin Leroy Wigfall (1930–2017) was an American abstract-expressionist painter, printmaker, teacher, gallery owner, and collector of African art. He was the founder of a community art space called Communications Village as a hub for residents in a Black neighborhood in Kingston, New York. At the age of 20, he was the youngest artist ever to have a painting purchased by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Benjamin Wigfall
Born(1930-11-17)November 17, 1930
Richmond, Virginia
DiedFebruary 9, 2017(2017-02-09) (aged 86)
New Paltz, New York
Known forPainter, printmaker, educator

Early life and education

edit

Benjamin Leroy Wigfall was born on November 17, 1930, to James Andrews Wigfall and Willie Cozenia Johnson Wigfall. He grew up in the working-class Black neighborhood of Church Hill in Richmond, VA. His mother worked in a tobacco factory, cleaned houses, and was a beautician. His father was a firefighter for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Benjamin was the youngest of three children.[1][2]

Wigfall started drawing while a student at George Mason Elementary School, first creating cartoons and later becoming observant of his neighborhood, including a house on 30th Street that he drew in pen and ink. When he was a teenager, his father found a nude drawing he had made. Wigfall was worried that his father would be upset, but he was happy to see the talent in his son.[2][3]

At Armstrong High School over several years, Wigfall persuaded the principal to hire an art teacher, who did not arrive until the spring of his senior year. Teacher Stafford W. Evans took him to the Virginia Museum, and then signed him up for classes. Wigfall's interest was portraiture until he saw Lyonel Feininger’s abstract painting “Moonwake.” Riding a bus one day, he noticed on the window some reflections of windows from a building. He then understood Feininger's painting and discovered abstraction. By the time he was 30, he completely gave up figurative art.[2][4][5]

An assistant state art supervisor whom he met at the museum encouraged him to apply for a museum fellowship. He submitted an application along with the drawing of the house in Church Hill, titled “The House on 30th Street.” In 1949, he received the first of three fellowships. When he arrived to pick up the fellowship, museum workers thought he was part of the service staff and sent him to another entrance.[2][3][5][6][7][8][9]

Wigfall received fellowships in 1949–50, 1951–52 and 1952–53, the third routed through the museum from an anonymous donor. He enrolled at Hampton Institute (now university) and was president of the Art Club for two years. He was surrounded by a faculty of established artists. His instructors included abstract artist Albert Kresch and Leo Katz, chair of the art department who was a noted artist and president of the Virginia Art Alliance; ceramicist Joseph W. Gilliard and sculptor Louis Rosenfeld.[10][11][12][13][14][15][3][16]

He studied art education and graduated in 1953.[7][8][5] He met his wife Mary Carter, an art student at the school, when he and friend L. Douglas Wilder (who later became Virginia's governor) crashed a party. He and Carter got married in 1955 and had two children.[7][5][1]

Wigfall received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to attend the University of Iowa after graduation. In  1954, he was awarded fellowships to Yale University - and found a mentor in abstract artist/teacher Gabor Peterchi – and the Yale-Norfolk Summer School in Norfolk, CT. With another fellowship in hand in 1958, he returned to Yale and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1959.[17][2][14][18][19][20][12][21][22]

Art career

edit

Wigfall was an abstract artist whose forte was printmaking. He was a regional artist whose heyday was in the 1950s, when he won awards, fellowships, news coverage and accolades.[4]

Considered a “gifted young artist,” he had a long history with the Virginia Museum. When he was a sophomore at Hampton in 1951, the museum bought his abstract oil painting “Chimneys” during its biennial exhibition “Virginia Artists 1951.” At age 20, Wigfall was the youngest of the five artists whose works were chosen. The painting, purchased for $90, was part of the museum's national traveling show.[14][23][24][25][26][10][27][28]

The painting was inspired by smokestacks atop industrial buildings that Wigfall saw at dusk as he often crossed the Marshall Street viaduct over Shockoe Valley. Usually, the stacks were busily billowing smoke but at that time of day, they were quiet and serene, he told an interviewer in 2003. “Things are abstract but at the same time quite real,” he explained once, noting that there was “nobility in something very common.”[7][4][5][29][30]

Being a talented young artist did not shield Wigfall from the racial discrimination of the time. In 1957 while teaching at Hampton, he and student Paul Dusenburg went shopping at two department stores in Richmond, according to an article in the college newspaper Hampton Spirit. After they left the second store, Miller & Rhoads, Wigfall was accosted by police officers, grabbed by the collar, and accused of trying to steal a handbag and wallet the day before. He denied the accusation. He was arrested on a vagrancy charge and taken to jail. Insisting on going to trial, Wigfall enlisted local civil rights attorney Oliver W. Hill. At trial, the charge was shoplifting and not vagrancy, and it was dropped. When the incident occurred, “Chimneys” was on display in the Miller & Rhoads store window.[5][7][29]

A year later, the Virginia Museum purchased his tempera painting “Corrosion and Blue” during “American Painting 1958,” its quadrennial exhibition of the best talents in contemporary American art. Wigfall mixed mud in the paint to give it non-color, he told an interviewer in 2003. Wigfall “achieves a strange effect of a different sort … in which streaks of orange and blue glow like live coals in a thick enveloping web of brown ashes,” a reviewer stated.[5][31][15][32][33][29][17]

In 1951, Langley Air Force Base in Hampton chose Wigfall's painting “Kites” to hang in a room in its library. It was the first painting picked by Langley in a program to provide space for works by local artists and authors. The work was on loan from Hampton.[34]

In 1953, Wigfall created sketches for a mural depicting Christ and Judas. It consisted of five full-size panels titled “Disturbance of Temptation,” “The Decision,” “The Kiss,” “Remorse,” “Consequence and Self-Punishment.” That same year, the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences (now the Chrysler Museum of Art) held a one-man show of his works, with Wigfall described by one writer as “Tidewater’s national ‘find.’” Among his entries were drawings and plans for the mural.[12][14][18]

During the 1950s, Wigfall participated in several other exhibitions, including faculty art shows, and activities. Among them:

1951 & 1953 - Annual art exhibitions at Hampton’s commencements. In 1951, when Mary McLeod Bethune was speaker, he was big news: One article noted that the exhibition “has received added interest” because of the recent purchase of Wigfall's “Chimneys.” In 1953, his submission to the commencement show was the mural project.[35][12][36][37]

1951 – Only Virginia artist represented in the Contemporary American Art Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[38][14][18]

1951 – “Chimneys” mounted in an exhibit at the Virginia Museum. Works by three of Hampton's faculty were also shown: Joseph W. Gilliard, Louis Rosenfeld and painter Helen Kendall.[37]

1952-1959 – At Norfolk Museum in 1952, among Hampton students and staff - including Albert Kresch, Joseph W. Gilliard, Louis Rosenfeld - who submitted paintings, ceramics, creative photography and sculptures. Wigfall submitted what were described as semi-abstracts: “Wounded Beasts,” Carnivorous Symbols,” “Boats” and “Urban.” In 1953, he had a one-man show at the museum. In 1954, three of his works – “Mourners,” “Crucifixion” and “The Beast” – were shown. In 1955, “Mourners” was one of 30 pieces chosen for the Tidewater Artists Open Annual. In 1956, the museum hung a Wigfall abstract in a furnished room in an exhibit titled “March for Moderns,” which combined architecture, interior decorations and art in a contemporary home design. In 1959, he was among art faculty at Virginia colleges who splattered paint on canvases in a show titled "Fresh Paint Exhibit."[13][18][17][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][19][20]

1952 – One of 20 students picked by Hampton Student Council to represent the college in the 1952-1953 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He was included in a newspaper photo of the students, standing in the second row.[46]

1953 – Recipient of a Purchase Prize at Hampton - an award given for purchase of his artwork by the college.[39]

1955 - One of 85 artists selected for the Brooklyn Museum (of Art) National Print Annual. His woodcut appeared on the cover of the annual.[39][19][47][15][38][17][33]

1955 - Named one of the 35 best painters in America by directors of 10 of the country's leading museums. The announcement appeared in the February issue of “Art in America” magazine under the title “New Talent in America.” Works by the artists were exhibited at Jackson Gallery in New York and were part of the American Federation of Artists traveling exhibit in 1956. Wigfall described his work as abstract expressionism.[15][4][48]

1956 – Included in a group show of Hampton faculty members, including painters Peter Kahn and John Koos, at the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College. (The division is now Norfolk State University and Virginia State is now university.) [49]

1956 - Included in the book "American Painting Today: A Cross-Section of Our Contemporary Art," edited by Nathaniel Pousette-Dart. Wigfall's painting "Chimneys" was reproduced in the book.[50] [51][52]

1958 - Among 50 artists from the South Atlantic states in a show at Gibbs Art Gallery in Charleston, SC. His entry was an oil painting.[53][22][33][17]

1958 – Chosen to participate in the first Provincetown, MA, arts festival titled “American Art of Our Time,” with 33 works by artists from Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.[54]

1958 - Loaned to the Virginia Museum's “American Artists 1958” exhibition a painting titled “Without Black” by Ulfert Wilke of the Allen R. Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville.[55]

1958 - Commissioned to design the 10th annual Christmas card for the Virginia Museum. The design is part of the museum's permanent collection. It was included in a display titled “Designs for Christmas” in the museum lobby in 1964.[5][56][7]

Wigfall's works could be found sporadically in exhibits during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1963, he was among four faculty members, including painter Lorraine Bolton, in a show at Hampton. In 1976, he was shown at Gallery One in Poughkeepsie, NY, owned by a fellow instructor at SUNY New Paltz, NY.[33][57]

In 1988, Wigfall opened Watermark/Cargo Gallery in Kingston, which featured African art from his own collection, and exhibitions of works by national and international contemporary artists. He held solo and group exhibits in the 1990s and into the 2000s, and sold African art. The gallery reopened in 2006 after having closed three years earlier. It was in operation for about 20 years.[4][58][5][30][59][60][2]

Teacher and mentor

edit

Wigfall the teacher supplanted him as an artist. He was described as a "gifted" teacher and mentor who was generous with his time for both students and other artists. Wigfall returned to Hampton as an assistant professor of art in 1955. He taught painting, basic design, graphics and introduction to art. He worked alongside some notable local and national artists, including Louis Rosenfeld, Joseph Gilliard, and painters John Koos and Friedrich Gronstedt.[17][33][61][10][62][4][63][64]

Wigfall remained at Hampton until 1963, when he took a position at the State University of New York (SUNY) New Paltz. He was the school's first Black professor of art, teaching classes in printmaking, and one of the first Black professors. He attended Black Student Union meetings, and was among the faculty and students involved in creating the Black Studies Department in 1969, one of the earliest in the country. He remained at the school for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1991 and devoting his time to his gallery. The school set up an MFA printmaking scholarship in his name.[65][66][67][29][2][68][63][69][70]

In 1972, Wigfall took a teaching job as an associate professor of fine arts at the University of South Florida in Tampa so he could work with a federal Model Cities-funded community arts center. Called the New Place, it was described as a “media exploration and communications center” that offered music, photography, art, dance, theater and other programs for children and adults. Wigfall, the co-director, came up with the idea for "audiographic prints," which were created by transferring interviews with community people to tapes and "typographical prints" for viewing simultaneously.[71][72]

Communications Village

edit

After arriving to teach in New Paltz, Wigfall began looking around for a space for his studio away from the college and his home. He found an abandoned livery stable in Ponckhockie, a Black working-class neighborhood in Kingston. He bought the building with a plan to convert it into his print shop. When he started working on it, young people kept stopping by to help. So, he expanded his idea to instead turn the building into a community print shop. He chose the name Communications Village as a way for artists to communicate with the world in which they lived.[4][66][65]

He opened Communications Village in 1973 as a place where community people took classes, absorbed lectures from major national artists, and learned and executed printmaking. They also participated in photography, poetry, oral history, driving lessons, fence-building and cooking. He taught them how to use the printing press and the darkroom. He gave them money so they could shoot photos with a Polaroid camera.[4][73][64]

In a visiting-artists program, professional artists – many of whom were colleagues and friends from New Paltz to New York, as well as his students – came to print their own works with the assistance of local printer assistants. Among the artists were Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Robert Blackburn, Mel Edwards and Mavis Pusey.[4][5][74][65][66][69]

A gallery was added several years later. In a 1977 exhibit at the site, Wigfall showed his works as well as those of such artists as Benny Andrews, Betty Blayton, Jayne Cortez, Mel Edwards, Charles Gaines, Diane Hunt, Pat Jow, Mary Lou Morgan and Joe Ramos. That same year, he held a show of drawings, paintings, prints and photographs from a six-week Children's Workshop. It was headed by his wife Mary, a retired public school art teacher who was employed in a migrant child-care program, and photographer Rose Tripoli.[75][76]

Communications Village received funding from New York State Council on the Arts, IBM and the America the Beautiful Fund to train printer assistants to produce a portfolio of works featuring local people. The first edition was produced in 1976 and shown in an exhibit there. The portfolio included works by professional artists assisted by the printer assistants.[77][78]

Wigfall also amassed a collection of tape recordings on his life, the life experiences of Black people he met, along with the progress of the village. He made collages based on those interviews. They were part of his “audiographic” practice of interviewing ordinary people as way to preserve history and build community. His series “Things My Father Told Me” consisted of transcribed text on the effects of slavery on family histories. He was tapped to speak on "cultural excavation" during a festival by the Urban Center for Africana Affairs in Poughkeepsie, NY, in 1981.[79][66][67][4]

"Communications Village was in fact Wigfall’s real art," noted one writer.[4] The art space closed in 1983.[4][67]

In 1977, Wigfall took his community involvement one step farther. He was among a group of Black protesters who confronted the Kingston police chief about what they considered the department's slow pace in finding the murderer of a 12-year-old boy. Wigfall, spokesman for the group, noted that the community wasn't looking for trouble but for a change in the city's attitude.[80]

Later exhibitions

edit

Wigfall did not often exhibit or promote his own works. He included some pieces occasionally in shows at Communications Village, including a 1977 exhibit of prints. As a result of his choice of teaching over exhibiting, he became an overlooked artist. In 1971 when Hampton presented a one-man show of his etchings, a newspaper writer noted that this “first-rate printmaker” had been teaching in New York for a long time and few people in Richmond were familiar with his works.[4][81]

Wigfall was known for his extensive African art collection, which he exhibited at Watermark/Cargo Gallery. In 1975, he organized an art show of textiles by the Design Works of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, NY, at the New Paltz College Art Gallery. Since 1970, the company had used African motifs in its fabrics and costumes.[82]

His work was featured in a group show of 20 Black artists in 1978 at Spectrum IV Gallery in New Rochelle, NY. He was listed among the country's top African American artists, including Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Camille Billops, Robert Blackburn, Vivian Brown, Edward Clark, Eldzier Cortor, Mel Edwards, Richard Hunt, Mohammed Omer Khalil, Norman Lewis, Richard Mayhew, Stephanie Pogue, Mavis Pusey, Vincent Smith, Sharon Sutton, Betty Blayton, John Wilson and Wendy Wilson.[83]

In 1979, he was one of 21 printmakers from Mid-Hudson Valley, Connecticut, and Westchester and Long Island, NY, to participate in the first professional invitational printmakers show sponsored by the Dutchess County Art Association in Poughkeepsie. In 1990, he was a judge in the Dutchess County Arts Council second annual armory exhibit.[84][85]

In 1987, Hampton University Museum held an exhibit of 31 nationally known artists, nine of whom had graduated or taught at the college. Titled “Hampton’s Collections and Connections: Part One, Returning Home to Hampton,” it included Wigfall; Reuben V. Burrell, the school's photographer for 40 years; Joseph Gilliard; sculptor Persis Jennings, and painters John Biggers and Samella Lewis, both of whom studied under Gilliard.[86]

In 2003, the Virginia Museum mounted an exhibit of 33 of the 60 works in its collection by African American artists, including Wigfall. Titled “Generations,” his “Chimneys” was among the group. The curator did not recognize his name, conducted some research, and discovered that he was local and African American.[23]

In 2018, Wired Gallery in High Falls, NY, mounted an exhibit titled "The Golden Age of New Paltz," celebrating artists from the 1960s and beyond. Wigfall was one of them.[87]

In 2019, the Midtown Arts District in Kingston held an exhibit focused on Wigfall's Watermark/Cargo Gallery. Titled “Ben Wigfall: the Artist Revealed,” the show featured artifacts from his African art collection, and his prints and paintings.[60]

In 2021, he was in a group show focused on Cinque Gallery, founded in 1969 in New York by Romare Bearden, Ernest Crichlow and Norman Lewis as a place for Black artists to exhibit and feed off each other's talent. Titled “Creating Community, Cinque Gallery Artists,” Wigfall was named along with the country's foremost artists associated with the gallery.[88]

Back where he started, Wigfall was featured in his first retrospective in a collaborative exhibit by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts[89] and the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz.[90] Titled "Ben Wigfall and Communications Village,” its first stop was in New Paltz in 2022, followed by Virginia in 2023. The exhibit consisted of his early paintings, assemblages, collages and prints, as well as his audiographic works. There were also prints created by artists and students/community people at Communications Village, and artworks by various artists.[4][66] On its third stop, the exhibit traveled to the Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA, where it was held in conjunction with Hampton University.[91]

In 2024, Wigfall's work as a photographer was exhibited along with those of his protege Sharon VanDyke at two sites in the city of Kingston. The exhibits featured slides from photos shot by Wigfall and VanDyke as they wandered the city in the 1970s photographing its African American citizens.[92][93]

In 2023, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans included him in a group show titled “Knowing Who We Are.” The pieces were pulled largely from the museum's collection. Wigfall was among a category of artists whose works showed a sense of place.[94]

Death

edit

Wigfall died on Feb. 9, 2017, a week after the Virginia Museum hosted the first of two lectures on his life and work.[29][30][2]

Selected exhibitions

edit

Selected collections

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Benjamin L. Wigfall". Copeland-Hammerl Funeral Home. 2017. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hawkins Adams, Stacy (2005-02-14). "Benjamin Leroy Wigfall". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  3. ^ a b c "Benjamin Wigfall". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fendrich, Laurie (2022-10-20). "When an artist becomes a community: The life and work of Benjamin Wigfall". Two Coats of Paint. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Life & Work of Benjamin Wigfall". YouTube. 2017. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  6. ^ "The House on 30th Street (Primary Title)". Virginia Museum of the Fine Arts. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Calos, Katherine (2017-02-11). "Artist Benjamin L. Wigfall dies at 86". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  8. ^ a b "Virginia Museum Fellowship: Wigfall, Benjamin". The Library of Virginia. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  9. ^ "Five Artists Given Awards By Museum". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. 1951-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  10. ^ a b c "Student Art To Be Shown At Institute". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1951-05-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  11. ^ "Commencement Begins At HI". Portsmouth Star, Portsmouth, VA. via newspapers.com. 1952-05-30. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  12. ^ a b c d "Exhibit Features 30 Art Designs". Tuskegee (Al) Herald. via newspapers.com. 1953-06-02. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  13. ^ a b "HI Exhibit Of Art Opens". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1952-04-13. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  14. ^ a b c d e Fanning Taylor, Bertha (1953-07-26). "Mural of 'Christ and Judas': Benjamin Wigfall's Art Shows Tragic Intensity". The Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  15. ^ a b c d "HI Faculty Man Honored For Art Work". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1955-11-06. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  16. ^ Fanning Taylor, Bertha (1952-04-13). "Hampton Institute Students and Staff Show Vivid and Provocative Art Here". The Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "Instructor Gets Art Fellowship". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1953-07-23. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  18. ^ a b c d "Benjamin Wigfall To Give Exhibit At Arts Museum". The Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. 1953-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  19. ^ a b c "Hampton Graduate Wins Top Recognition As Artist". Alabama Tribune. via newspapers.com. 1955-04-15. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  20. ^ a b "Education Notes: Hampton Institute". New York Age. via newspapers.com. 1955-04-23. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  21. ^ "S.U.I. Receives $20,000 in Gifts, Grants". Iowa City Press-Citizen. via newspapers.com. 1953-11-28. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  22. ^ a b "Hampton Prof. Gets Yale Fellowship". Jackson (MI) Advocate. via newspapers.com. 1958-08-02. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  23. ^ a b Proctor, Roy (2003-07-20). "'Generations' of art': Virginia Museum gathers its works by African-American artists for exhibit". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  24. ^ a b "Artists of State to Display Original Art at Abingdon". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. 1951-08-19. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  25. ^ "A PLAYGROUND TRAGEDY:: Tot Chokes to Death on Balloon; 4 Kids Heroes". Afro-American. 26 May 1951. ProQuest 531768402.
  26. ^ a b "Exhibit to open at Bridgewater". Staunton (VA) News-Leader. via newspapers.com. 1952-04-16. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  27. ^ "Museum Adds Valued Items During 1951". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. 1951-12-23. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  28. ^ "3 Norforkians Have Works in Richmond Show, Newport News, Hampton, Phoebus Represented in Art Exhibition". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. 1951-04-19. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  29. ^ a b c d e Rodriguez, Holly (2017-04-21). "Lecture on native artist Benjamin Wigfall set for April 28". Richmond Free Press. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  30. ^ a b c Baxter, Paige (2017-06-14). "Remembering a Richmond-Born Artist". Boomer Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  31. ^ Longaker, Jon D. (1958-03-30). "Six Virginians' Works In National Exhibition". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  32. ^ "Work of 2 Va. Artists Purchased by Museum". via newspapers.com. 1958-04-19. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  33. ^ a b c d e "Hi Art Show Features Faculty Members' Work". New Journal and Guide. 16 March 1963. p. A4. ProQuest 568704718.
  34. ^ "Painting chosen for Langley Library (photo caption)". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1951-11-11. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  35. ^ "Dr. Bethune Speaks to Hampton Grads: Judge Homer S. Brown of Pa., and Dr. Felton Trueblood on Program". Afro-American. 2 June 1951. ProQuest 531730557.
  36. ^ "HI To Sponsor Commencement 4-Day Exhibit". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1954-05-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  37. ^ a b "Hampton Art Student's Work at Va. Museum". Portsmouth (VA) Star. via newspapers.com. 1951-06-03. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  38. ^ a b c "Ukrainian, 2 Virginia Artists To Exhibit In Williamsburg". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1963-03-03. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h Cederholm, Theresa (1973). "Afro-American Artists: A Bio-bibliographic Directory". archive.org. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  40. ^ "Course In Art Is Taught By Mr. Wigfall". New Journal and Guide. 3 March 1956. p. A3. ProQuest 568425427.
  41. ^ Dillon, Betty (1959-03-16). "Catapulted fresh paint framed on museum walls". Ledger Star, Norfolk. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  42. ^ "Panel Sketches for Mural Shown at Local Museum". Ledger-Star, Norfolk. via newspapers.com. 1953-07-07. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  43. ^ Taylor, Bertha Fanning (1955-06-05). "Tidewater Artists: Strong, Vivid Art Exhibited At the Museum". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  44. ^ Taylor, Bertha Fanning (1954-08-01). "Stimulating, Provocative Paintings By Artists of New South Are Shown". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  45. ^ Taylor, Bertha Fanning (1956-03-11). "Among the Exhibitions: March for Moderns". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  46. ^ "20 Institute students Win Places In College Who's Who". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1952-11-23. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  47. ^ "Wins Recognition". The Louisville Defender. 21 April 1955. ProQuest 2702551864.
  48. ^ "Hampton artist included in U.S. Talent Show". The Call, Kansas City, MO. via newspapers.com. 1956-06-01. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  49. ^ "State College Division Shows Contemporary Art". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. 1956-11-30. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  50. ^ Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel (1956). American Painting Today: A Cross-Section of Our Contemporary Art. Hastings House. pp. 40–42 – via Google Books.
  51. ^ "One-Man Show Set By HI Instructor". The Daily Press, Newport News, VA. 1957-03-20. Retrieved 2024-03-29 – via newspapers.com.
  52. ^ "Hampton Artist In 1-Man Show". Daily Defender. 25 March 1957. p. 7. ProQuest 493702293.
  53. ^ "3 Hampton Artists Will Display Work". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1958-05-18. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  54. ^ "Paintings Chosen For 1st Exhibit". Dayton (OH) Daily News. via newspapers.com. 1958-06-22. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  55. ^ "Wilke Honored". Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY. via newspapers.com. 1958-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  56. ^ Longaker, Jon D. (1958-11-09). "Art in Virginia: here and there". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  57. ^ Borak, Jeffrey (1976-05-16). "You Have To Be 'A Little Bit Crazy' to Venture Into Art Gallery Business". Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  58. ^ "Gallery hosts African art, antiques show Featured art of Zulu". Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY). 2000-08-18. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  59. ^ "Art gallery reopens near Artemis". Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal. via newspapers.com. 2006-12-22. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  60. ^ a b "Ben Wigfall: The Artist Revealed". Kingston Midtown Arts District. 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  61. ^ "Letter to Editor: Our Readers' Views". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1961-03-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  62. ^ "Thirteen New Members On Faculty At Hampton Inst". New Journal and Guide. 24 September 1955. p. A18. ProQuest 568320344.
  63. ^ a b "Welcome to Ben Wigfall's Communications Village". Harambee. 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  64. ^ a b Woods, Lynn (2017-02-24). "Ben Wigfall remembered as African-American arts pioneer". HV1 magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  65. ^ a b c "VMFA Announces Two Upcoming Exhibitions Highlighting Works by Abstract Artist Benjamin Wigfall and Contemporary Artist Whitfield Lovell". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  66. ^ a b c d e "Benjamin Wigfall & Communications Village". Art Forum. Feb 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  67. ^ a b c Woods, Lynn. ""Ben Wigfall & Communication Village," Opens at the Dorsky". Chronogram. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  68. ^ "College hosts memorial for beloved professor Benjamin Wigfall". New Paltz News. 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  69. ^ a b "In Memoriam: Professor Wigfall remembered as pioneer for African-American Arts". New Paltz, The Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  70. ^ "Professor Ben Wigfall Memorial Printmaking Scholarship at State University of New York at New Paltz". Global Scholarships. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  71. ^ Benbow, Charles (1972-02-03). "The New Place: New Outlooks Are Its Output". St. Petersburg Times. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  72. ^ "New Place Called Most Successful". Bradenton (FL) Herald. via newspapers.com. 1972-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  73. ^ Mossman, Margery (1977-01-02). "A chance to learn, to feel relevant". Kingston (NY) Sunday Freeman. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  74. ^ Harrison, Don (2023-06-13). "In the Neighborhood: Benjamin Wigfall and Whitfield Lovell share space and place at VMFA". Style Weekly. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  75. ^ "Community Notebook: Art Exhibits". Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY). via newspapers.com. 1977-01-02. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  76. ^ "Children's Art Exhibit Set At Communications Village". Daily Freeman, Kingston, VA. via newspapers.com. 1977-02-24. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  77. ^ "Prints Portfolios Etching Ponchkokie Area and Its People". Daily Freeman, Kingston, VA. via newspapers.com. 1974-08-25. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  78. ^ "Special Art Showing at Communications Village". Daily Freeman, Kingston, VA. via newspaper.com. 1976-12-29. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  79. ^ "Urban Center for Africana Affairs plans festival". Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal. via newspapers.com. 1981-01-30. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  80. ^ Borsellino, Rob (1977-05-12). "Group protests Mosley case". Daily Freeman, Kingston. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  81. ^ Cossitt, F.D. (1871-02-21). "Print, Etching Shows Impress". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  82. ^ "African Art As Inspiration For Textile Designs". Daily Freeman, Kingston. via newspapers.com. 1975-02-09. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  83. ^ "Print exhibit". Mount Vernon Argus. via newspapers.com. 1978-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  84. ^ Borak, Jeffrey (1979-02-02). "Professional printmakers' show to open". Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  85. ^ "Arts Calendar". Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal. via newspapers.com. 1990-08-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  86. ^ "Artists return home to Hampton for exhibit". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1987-09-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  87. ^ "The Golden Age of New Paltz". Roll magazine. 2018. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  88. ^ "Creating Community. Cinque Gallery Artists". Bearden Foundation. 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  89. ^ "Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  90. ^ "Benjamin Wigfall & Communications Village". The Dorsky at SUNY New Paltz. 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  91. ^ McGee, Kelley (2023-11-17). "Beyond the Canvas: New exhibitions at the Torggler". Christopher Newport University. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  92. ^ "The Village Revealed: Two Lenses, One Vision". The Gallery @107. 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  93. ^ Barricklo, Tania (2024-02-02). "Through the Lens of Sharon VanDyke exhibit at Good Work Institute". Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY). Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  94. ^ "Knowing Who We Are: A 20TH Anniversary Exhibition". Odgen Museum of Southern Art. 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  95. ^ "State Artists to Show Works". Roanoke Times. via newspapers.com. 1952-10-26. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  96. ^ "Original and Experimental Work Displayed In Third Exhibition at Clark Gallery". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. 1956-01-22. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  97. ^ "Etchings by Wigfall: Clark Gallery Stages Exhibit Of Modern-Day Art Trends". Virginian-Pilot. via newspapers.com. 1955-11-20. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  98. ^ "British disbar W. Indian lawyer". Afro-American. 30 March 1957. ProQuest 531974750.
  99. ^ "Art column: Hampton University Museum - "Benjamin A. Wigfall – A Homecoming"". Daily Press, Newport News, VA. via newspapers.com. 1993-09-05. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  100. ^ Cossitt, F.D. (1964-12-27). "Art in Richmond". Richmond Times-Dispatch. via newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  101. ^ "College Arts Festival To Open Thursday". News and Observer, Raleigh, NC. 1968-04-14. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  102. ^ "New Art Interest Group Focuses On Black Works". New York Amsterdam News. 15 March 1969. ProQuest 226542851.
  103. ^ "Fifteen Under Forty: Paintings by Young New York State Black Artists". emmaamos.com. 1970. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 2023-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  104. ^ "Twenty Contemporary Printmakers". bettyblaytonartist.com. 1978. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  105. ^ "Tribute to a Printmaker". New York Times. 1984-11-30. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  106. ^ "Art in Print: A Tribute to Robert Blackburn". bettyblaytonartist.com. 1984-11-30. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  107. ^ "Calendar: Kingston Center of SUNY Ulster - "Restoring Pride in Culture: Legacy and Tradition"". Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal. via newspapers.com. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  108. ^ "Past, Present & Future: A Black History Month Kingston Exhibition". City of Kingston, NY. 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  109. ^ "1st Saturday Kingston, March 7, 2020, Gallery Guide" (PDF). madkinstong.org. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  110. ^ "EXUBERANCE: Dialogues in African American Abstract Painting". Daily News Record, Harrisonburg, VA. 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  111. ^ "Exhibition Celebrates the Dynamic Legacy of Abstraction in African American Painting". James Madison University. 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  112. ^ "VMFA Acquires Two Comprehensive Collections of Works by Virginia Artists Benjamin Wigfall and Willie Anne Wright". East City Art. 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  113. ^ "Art collections". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  114. ^ "Composition, by Benjamin L. Wigfall". Yale University Art Gallery. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benjamin_Leroy_Wigfall&oldid=1216339991"