Past Honorees

In 2003, the Porter Colloquium inaugurated an Annual award to honor the work of pioneering figures in African American Art who continue in the tradition established by Professor Porter.

Robert Farris Thompson (2007)
Art Historian

Considered one of the world's foremost authorities on African and Afro-Atlantic cultures, Robert Farris Thompson has been called a brilliant thinker, tireless researcher, spellbinding lecturer (known to break into dance and to sing and drum), and writer of almost velvet prose—a towering figure in the history of art whose voice for diversity and cultural openness has made him a public intellectual of great importance.
       His colleagues in African art credit him with having transformed the fields of African and African diaspora art history. He has completely changed what the public understands about the use and context of African art, showing that art cannot be split from its maker, its use, its function, and its perception.
       Robert Farris Thompson is the Colonel John Trumbull Professor of Art at Yale University. Professor Thompson has taught at Yale since 1961, and has served as visiting curator at UCLA's Museum of Ethnic Arts (1970), at the National Gallery of Art (1974). He has organized several major exhibitions, including The Four Moments of the Sun (1981) and The Face of the Gods: Shrines and Altars of the Black Atlantic World (1985) at the National Gallery of Art. Professor Thompson has received research grants from the Ford Foundation (1962-1964), the Yale Concilium on International and Area Studies (1965), the National Institute of Medicine and Science (1975), the National Institute of the Museums of Zaire (1976), and the National Gallery of Art (1977, 1979, 1980). He has served on the Joint Committee on African Studies of the Social Science Research Council of Learned Societies (1966-1973), as Chairman on the Humanities Committee of the African Studies Association (1966-1970), and in numerous capacities at Yale.

Evangeline J. Montgomery (2007)
Arts Administrator and Artist

Arts administrator, artist, curator, consultant, lecturer, collector, cultural activist, Evangeline Juliette Montgomery, “EJ” as she is fondly known to artists, museum professionals, scholars and cultural critics, has made outstanding contributions to African American art and the art of the African Diaspora, for which she is being honored by the 18th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art.
       Beginning in 1983, as program development officer for the Arts America Program, United States Information Agency (USIA), now the Cultural Programs Office of the U.S. Department of State, Montgomery has coordinated over 75 overseas exhibitions that regularly included solo shows of African American and women artists. In spite of the conservative political climate of the 1980s and early 1990s, Montgomery worked tirelessly to ensure that US government-sponsored programs abroad reflected the rich diversity of the citizens of the United States . 
       As an arts administrator, Montgomery, prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, served as Director and Curator of the Rainbow Sign Gallery in Berkeley , California (1971-77).  For the City of San Francisco , she served as Art Commissioner and Chairperson of the Art Committee from 1976 to 1979. From 1968 to 1977, Montgomery served as Ethnic Art Consultant to the Oakland Art Museum , curatorial division. Over the past 40 years, she has served on numerous boards of agencies, institutions and organizations in many parts of the United States .
       As an artist, EJ has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, nationally and internationally.  Her work has been included in many private and public collections such as the Paul Jones Collection at the University of Delaware , Oakland Museum , Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists ( Boston ), Illinois State University , and James E. Lewis Museum at Morgan State University , and others. She has received a number of awards and fellowships, among which include awards by the Women’s Caucus for the Arts, National Endowments for the Arts, National Conference of Artists, Brandywine Workshop Residences, American Craft Council and Blacks in Government, among many others.

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Faith Ringgold (2006)

Distinguished artist Faith Ringgold is a pace setter in the visual and literary arts as well as civil and social activism. Using her voice, figuratively and literally, Ringgold puts her creative stamp on issues that concern women and artists of color. At the forefront of civil, social, and artistic change, in the visual arts, she is truly an icon in the world of art and art history.

Born in Harlem, New York in 1930, Faith Ringgold was raised in Harlem, considered the center of black art creativity. Feeding off the flow of artistic energy in New York City, Ringgold enrolled at City College of New York and graduated with a bachelor of science in fine art and education in 1955. After finishing undergraduate studies, she taught art in the public schools of New York city while simultaneously pursing a graduate degree—a master of arts—in art from City College. Ringgold received her MA degree in 1959.

An artist whose accomplishments are plenty, Faith Ringgold has made the art world take notice of her talent and contributions. She has received numerous commissions, awards and honors, and honorary doctorates. Ringgold’s art can be found in public collections such as the Solomon Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to name a few. If Ringgold’s contributions are not enough, she has founded The Anyone Can Fly Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to expand the canon to include artists working and creating in the tradition of the African Diaspora and to introduce artists and traditions to youth and adult audiences, in 1999. After teaching at the University of California at San Diego since 1984, she retired in 2002. After a long and exemplary career in the visual arts in the form of artist, curator, activist, writer, and educator, Ringgold has and continues to bring dynamism to the field of African American art.

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David Driskell (2005)

Dr. David C. Driskell has elevated African American art and art history to a level his mentor, James A. Porter envisioned for the field. A visionary, Driskell is a formidable presence in the visual arts. Driskell has distinguished himself as a curator, collector, artist, and a pioneer in the history of African American art. Expanding the canon set forth by Porter, Driskell has accelerated the exploration and appreciation of art of the Diaspora through his active participation in assembling exhibitions and publishing on the area. With Driskell’s warrior mentality and extending the path paved by his mentor, art by African and African Americans is continually receiving critical attention.

A native of the South, Driskell was born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1931, and educated in North Carolina as a youth. Entering Howard University in 1951, as an undergraduate, Driskell came under the tutelage of James A. Porter. He graduated with a bachelor of arts in 1955. Driskell attended Catholic University of America where he received a master of fine arts degree in 1962.

Like his predecessor and mentor, James A. Porter, Dr. David C. Driskell has greatly impacted the field of African American art and art history. Driskell has picked up where Porter’s legacy left off. With his diligence, the field has expanded from writing and teaching about the artistic merits of African Americans to collecting the works and organizing insightful exhibitions. Driskell serves as a model for artists, collectors, and scholars in the area. His passion and understanding of the art and the value of the art are clearly evident in all of his accomplishments. A true champion for African American visual activity, Driskell further sets the standard for in-depth, profound scholarship and artistic production in African American visual arts.

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Deb Willis (2004)

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Samella Lewis (2003)

Dr. Lewis has the distinction of being the first honoree of the James A. Porter Colloquium Award. Receiving her Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1951, she has distinguished herself as a scholar, educator, artist and trailblazer in the field of art history. She co-published Black Artists on Art, Volumes I and II, and her book Art: African-American is a seminal text in the field. her books are used in many art history courses at colleges and universities across the country. As the founding editor of the International Review of African American Art, she has continued to make valuable contributions to the dialogue and criticism on African American art. The publication is now located at Hampton University, her alma mater. Dr. Lewis is the founding curator and director of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles where, in addition she founded Hancraft Studios, a publishing company. She has curated major exhibitions on the arts of the African Diaspora, including Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture and When the Spirit Moves: African American Art Influenced by Dance. Dr. Lewis produced films such as Bernie Casey: Black Artist, To Follow a Star: The Sculpture of Richmond Barthe, and The Black Artist. In addition to all of these achievements, Dr. Lewis has continued her studio productivity as a visual artist. Over the years she has produced critically acclaimed prints in her studio and at Brandywine Printmaking Workshop. Her prints, as well as her paintings and drawing, have been exhibited in major public and private galleries and museums around the United States and abroad. Dr. Samella S. Lewis reflects the Howard University model of the artist/scholar.