Palmer Hayden was born in Wide Water, Virginia. He attended Cooper Union in New York and studied independently at Boothbay Art Colony in Maine. Additionally he studied independently in France from 1927 to 1932. He is a World War I veteran who received Palmer Hayden as a nickname when his white commanding officers could not pronounce his given name, Peyton Hedgeman. Mr. Hayden is most famous for his paintings of folklore and black history events. He helped to distinguish the black art form by becoming one of the first artists to use African subjects in his paintings.
-information from the Palmer Hayden Gallery.
Ms. Jones studied at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston when the civil rights of African Americans were extremely strained. Born in England, she settled in Washington D.C. in 1930 and was able to overcome race barriers and pursue a career in art. Ms. Jones entered her paintings in exhibits that would not accept work from Black artists by having her white friends deliver them. She won many prizes; however they were eventually taken away and given to white competitors. Refusing to let them get the best of her, she persevered and presented her exceptional art to the world.
-information from the Lois Mailou Jones Gallery
From Florence, South Carolina, William H. Johnson moved to New York in 1918. He arrived just in time to kick off the Renaissance. While in New York, Mr. Johnson studied at the National Academy of Design and stayed for five years while being taught by such men as George Luks and Charles Hawthorne. His career took him to places such as North Africa and Europe, and he eventually settled in Paris in 1926, where the influence of Hawthorne prompted him to paint and study the modern European masters.
-information from the William H. Johnson Gallery.