Charles Sebree
Charles Sebree | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1914 Madisonville, Kentucky |
| Died | 1985 (aged 70–71) Washington, DC |
| Alma mater | Chicago Art Institute and the Chicago School of Design |
Charles Sebree (1914–1985) was an American painter and playwright[1] best known for his involvement in Chicago's black arts scene of the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Sebree spent his early childhood in White City, located in eastern Kentucky. In 1924, his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois, which exposed Sebree to a wide range of artistic influences.[2][3] One of his drawings as a young boy was bought by the Renaissance Society for twenty-five dollars and ended up being featured on their magazine cover.[4] After attending the Art Institute of Chicago, Sebree remained there and became involved with a group of artists centered in Chicago's South Side.
Career
[edit | edit source]Chicago's black arts movement came to rival the vibrancy seen in New York's Harlem Renaissance, and Sebree benefited from connections with artists such as Margaret Taylor-Burroughs and Eldzier Cortor, as well as the network of support created through affiliations with such institutions as the South Side Community Arts Center and the Art Institute.[5]
Sebree was very interested in the theater, working as a playwright, director, and set designer. His painted portraits tended primarily to feature performers, frequently harlequins and saltimbanques.[5][6] These works show a strong Modernist influence, specifically recalling the expressive faces and figures seen in the portraits of Picasso and Modigliani, while also referencing his interest in Byzantine icons.[6]
Between 1936 and 1938, Sebree worked for the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA). In 1942, his career was briefly interrupted when he was drafted into World War II.[7] He was stationed at Camp Robert Smalls, a segregated section of the Great Lakes Naval Training base, north of Chicago. While there, he met the playwright Owen Dodson, who would become a close friend and artistic collaborator. Together, they produced several plays at Camp Smalls, including the “Ballad of Dorrie Miller,” which was dedicated to a black naval mess attendant who saved the lives of several of his shipmates at Pearl Harbor.[7]
After the war, Sebree moved to New York, where he once again found a community of artists, as he had in Chicago. His circle in New York included artists such as Billie Holiday and Billy Strayhorn. He was the recipient of a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Fund in 1945, and went on to co-write the successful 1954 Broadway musical, "Mrs. Patterson," which starred Eartha Kitt. Sebree moved to Washington, DC in the 1947, where he lived until his death from cancer in 1985.[3][7]
Works
[edit | edit source]Plays[8]
- My Mother Came Crying Most Pitifully (1949)
- Mrs Patterson (1954)
- Dry August (1972)
References
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