The Atlanta Life Insurance Company proudly features selections
from the corporation's widely acclaimed African-American Art
Collection assembled from the Atlanta Life National Annual Art
Exhibitions and Competitions.
In September 1980, Atlanta Life celebrated its 75th anniversary
and the dedication of the new Atlanta Life headquarters building.
One of the highlights of the commemorative activities was the
Atlanta Life First National Annual African-American Art Competition
and Exhibition founded by former President and Chief Executive
Officer, Jesse Hill, Jr. We wanted to emphasize our corporate
commitment to the ongoing support of the Black uplift struggle and
combine our "Quest For Economic Dignity" with "A Quest For Human
and Cultural Dignity." We believe the community must have cultural
enrichment as well as economic stability.
One of the primary reasons for interest in this National
African-American Art Exhibition and Competition was the fact that
very few attempts were made to hold a national exhibition of black
art. The program was molded after the Atlanta University Annual Art
Competition and Exhibition which ran from 1942 until 1969. In a
manner similar to Atlanta University, the company extended the
opportunity to expose African-American artists nationwide. Atlanta
Life's exhibit deliberately appealed to under-exposed artists. As a
result, many unknown talents gained visibility while Atlanta Life
began to build a corporate art collection.
The exhibit and competition was planned and guided by an art
advisory committee. In the first year, Jess Hill, Jr. served as
Honorary Co-Chair along with Margaret Burroughs, whose national
reputation stemmed from both her art and work as Founder and
Director of Chicago's DuSable Museum. Assisting them as
Co-Chairpersons were Jenelsie Walden Holloway of Spelman College's
Art Department, Dr. O.T. Hammonds, an ardent collector, and T.M.
Pennington, an Atlanta artist. Crystal Britton, a local gallery
owner at the time, was the process planner. The remainder of the
committee included such individuals as Azira Hill, Jewel Simon,
John Riddle, Jr., Jan Meadows, Lev Mills, Millicent Dobbs Jordan,
Paulette Potts, Alma Simons and other distinguished members of
Atlanta's black community.
Jurors for the historic year were E. Barry Gaither,
Director/Curator, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American
Artists, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts; Dr. Samella Lewis, artist,
educator, editor and author of Afro-American Artists, Claremont,
California; and Dr. Richard Long who chaired the Afro-American
Studies Department at Atlanta University.
The collection has reflected the input of several prominent
figures in the art field as well as important patrons. Assistance
has been provided from such knowledgeable jurors as Dr. Lowery
Sims, Associate Curator for 20th Century Art at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York; Dr. David Driskell of the University of
Maryland and Curator of the exhibition, Two Centuries of
Afro-American Art; and Robert Blackburn, founder and director of
the Printmaking Workshop in New York. Ed Spriggs, K. Joy Ballard
Peters, Bill Day, Freddie Styles, and Curtis Patterson, additional
members of the local art community, also contributed time and
effort to the program.
Atlanta Life has maintained its position of supporting,
encouraging, appreciating and purchasing the works of
African-American artists. In doing so, its annual event became a
must attend affair for a number of artists, art patrons and
culturally inspired individuals across the country.
The program continued to draw 400 to 500 entrants per year, and
the company holdings have increased more than 300 works with every
medium represented. While the primary focus of Atlanta Life has
been on the younger, newer and under-exposed artists, the
collection includes the works of well-established artists such as
Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Hale Woodruff, and Romare
Bearden.
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