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Sylvester Sims (1928-2012) was “one of Milwaukee’s foremost artists.” Like Richard Overton with whom he shares the exhibit space, Sims' long career testifies to the roots of the Black Arts Movement before its flowering in the 1960s, and its continued resonance into the 21st century. The artist once quipped that “he knew how to paint before he knew his ABCs,” and he studied art at St. Benedict School, the Layton School of Art, and with Milwaukee painter Earl Gessert (work by Gessert is on view at the East Library).
A one-time Freewheelers member, Sims also exhibited alongside Gerald Coleman and Edgar Jeter, in whose company he again finds himself with this display. And like William Christian—Sims' "Brothers" also seem to be looking across the exhibit to Christian's "Roz"—Sims, too, was a Golden Gloves boxing champion; Sims was also the first African American to win the state diving championship.
“Brothers,” dated 1994, evidences Sims’ return to art after an 18-year hiatus and reflects his lifelong affinity for character studies. The work also communicates his later turn toward “probing his memory” of life and community around Milwaukee’s ‘Old Walnut Street.’ The affection shared between the two boys in “Brothers” conveys the “warmth, vigor and camaraderie” which Sims identified with Old Walnut Street.