Benny Andrews

Benny Andrews (1930-2006 )Benny Andrews is a painter, collage artist, writer, printmaker, sculptor, book illustrator and teacher. His work is narrative and always carries a message. Andrews, one of ten children in a sharecropper's family, was born and raised in Madison, Georgia. He received his BFA from the school of the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1968 to 1997, he taught at Queens College and from 1982 to 1984, he served as Director of the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts. His collection of work includes documenting the forced relocation of Cherokees from their native lands in Georgia to Oklahoma in 1838. He initiated the series to reflect the migratory routes and experiences that influenced the lives of countless Americans including those from his own family. His work tells the story of his life and touches the viewer with a universal appeal.
Although Andrews dealt with such difficult subjects as slavery, the Holocaust, and the American response to revolt and war, his figurative expressionistic style celebrates the human spirit and the pursuit of the American Dream.