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Edgar Jeter (1934-1987) was an innovative and prolific self-taught artist of many media, as well as a self-taught musician and jazz lover. The artist was "best known in the city for his portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr." (this work) until the mid-1970s, when he turned to embrace new media and styles. This work honors the legacy of the slain civil rights leader, also the namesake of the King Library which was home to the Freewheelers throughout the 1970s and 80s. Jeter's later turn toward creative experimentation with new media typified the work of the King Library Freewheelers.
The artist's legacy of public service encompassed work at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where he is known for a diorama honoring the fight for Black suffrage; at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where he worked as an installation tech; and as artist-in-residence at various Milwaukee Public Schools and a Wisconsin correctional facility. The artist was also commissioned for a large public sculpture installation in a Madison, Wis., park (1987), which one critic described as “subtly gorgeous” and “one of Madison’s finest pieces of public art.”
Other work by Jeter is on view at the Central and Center Street libraries. Extensive biographical information for the artist, including revealing profiles, are available as part of the MPL Digital Collections Milwaukee Black Arts Movement digital collection.