Wisconsin Art Collection, Permanent Art Collection
Acquisition
Accession
1992.1
Source or Donor
Richard T. Overton
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made/Created
Artist
Richard T. Overton
Date made
circa 1980 - circa 1992
Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature
Transcription
"RT Overton"
Dimensions
Dimension Description
Framed Size
Height
20-1/4 in
Width
16-1/4 in
Dimension Description
Image Size
Height
13-3/4 in
Width
10-1/2 in
Relationships
Related Publications
Notes
Materials pertaining to the artist are available in the Milwaukee Black Arts Movement digital collection: https://content.mpl.org/digital/collection/MkeBAM/.
Interpretative Labels
Label
Richard Overton (1913-2010) was a visual and performing artist whose work elaborated key themes of the Black Arts Movement. The artist was a jazz musician and Ella Fitzgerald’s longtime musical director. Overton also worked at the Milwaukee Public Library. Overton’s long artistic career evidences the roots of the Black Arts Movement in Milwaukee before the 1960s, its persistence into the 21st century, and its national and international connections. This work in particular resonates with Frankie B. Cole’s “Red Tropical Circle” and Gerald Duane Coleman’s “Pride of the Bamboo Forest" which appear alongside it in the exhibit.
