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Home , Gordon Parks, Jack Whitten, Merton Simpson, Tony Goldman

ADGER COWANS & FRIENDS: & PHOTOGRAPHS ADGER COWANS & FRIENDS: PAINTINGS & PHOTOGRAPHS

With works by: Ed Clark Robert Indiana James Phillips Jack Whitten

Bruce Silverstein Gallery is delighted to present paintings and photographs by Adger Cowans, alongside extraordinary works from the artist’s personal collection. This collection reflects the tempo of the times -- City in the 1960s and 1970s -- as well the camaraderie and competition, influence and innovation among the artists. Adger Cowans (b. 1936) is a noted photographer, painter, and filmmaker, as well as a member of the influential Kamoinge Workshop and AfriCobra collectives. Cowans was one of the first African American students to earn a degree in Photography from Ohio University in 1958, and furthered his education at the School of Motion Picture Arts and School of Visual Arts in . Cowans also has a storied career in cinema as a film still photographer on over thirty Hollywood sets, and worked with directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, and .

One of the most poignant moments in Cowans’s career occurred while living and working in New York City during the early 1960s. Cowans was recruited by James Ray Francis to become a founding member of The Kamoinge Workshop, and along with Louis Draper, would be the only members with a formal education in the arts. Kamoinge, translating to “group effort” from the language of the Kikuyu people of , sought to present the Black community with dignity and positivity, which was antithetical to the stereotypical portrayal by the media.

Adger Cowans (1936) White Umbrella, , 1961 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961 10 x 7 1/4 in. (25.4 x 18.4 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00016-SP $12,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Three Shadows, 1968 Gelatin silver print mounted to board, printed c. 1968 12 3/4 x 7 in. (32.4 x 17.8 cm) Signed and titled with stamps on mount verso ACO-00040-SP $30,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Self-Portrait (Shrouded, Masked, Free), 1973 Three gelatin silver prints, printed c. 1973 6 x 9 in. (15.2 x 22.9 cm) Each 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm) ACO-00027-SP $36,000 In 1979, Cowans became a member of the highly influential African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCobra), which was founded in Chicago in 1968 to define a “Black aesthetic”, and use identity and style as tools to promote solidarity among the African diaspora. Cowans’s work stood out due his inter- est in abstraction, as opposed to the more figurative work by other members. He still is a member today. Grace Jones, Reginald Hudlin, and Robin Givens in Boomerang.

Adger Cowans (1936) African Suite Series, 1970 Acrylic on black canvas 60 x 51 in. (152.4 x 129.5 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00072-SP $150,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Shield, c. 1970s Acrylic on black canvas 55 x 55 in. (139.7 x 139.7 cm) Artist hand print in acrylic on verso ACO-00078-SP $150,000

James Phillips (b. 1945)

James Phillips was deeply involved in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and became a member of AfriCobra in 1977. Phillips cites African artist Ademola Olugebefola as an influence, as well as African spiritual heritage, on his practice. Phillips’s paintings are composed of intricate African patterns and designs, and are marked by their bright colors. Phillips currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD and teaches in the Department of Fine Arts at Howard University in Washington D.C.

Cowans met Phillips during a chance encounter on the subway in the late 1970s. Recognizing the artist from exhibition openings, Cowans introduced himself and expressed his admiration for Phillips’s work. Becoming friends, Phillips then helped to facilitate Cowans’s membership into AfriCobra in 1979. James Phillips (1945) Juju” for Charlie, 1988 Acrylic on board 18 1/2 x 12 1/8 in. (47 x 30.8 cm) Signed on recto JPH-00000-SP $18,000 James Phillips (1945) Untitled, c. 1988 Acrylic on board 20 x 15 in. (50.8 x 38.1 cm) JPH-00001-SP $18,000 Robert Indiana (1928-2018)

Robert Indiana, an icon of Pop Art, was born and raised in Indiana, and after serving in the United States Army Air Forces, attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the Skowhegan School of and Sculpture. Most widely known for his LOVE work, the piece was originally conceived as a Christmas card for the , New York, then became a sculpture, screenprint, and a 1973 U.S. stamp. In 2008, Indiana used LOVE as a model for his HOPE image, from which he donated all proceeds from reproduction sales to ’s presidential campaign.

Cowans met Indiana when he was tasked with photographing the artist in his studio. Through Indiana, Cowans became friends with fellow artist Lenore Tawney who was best known for her remarkable weavings. Tawney often hosted Indiana, his then partner designer John Klosn, and Cowans, among others, at her loft on Wall Street.

Portrait of Robert Indiana by Adger Cowans

Robert Indiana (1928-2018) Yield, Brother Adger, 1966 Acrylic on canvas 24 x 20 1/2 in. (61 x 52.1 cm) Artist stencil on verso RIN-00000-SP $375,000 Adger Cowans (1936) String, c. 1980s Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1980s 8 1/2 x 11 in. (21.6 x 27.9 cm) Signed and titled on verso ACO-00032-SP $12,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Footsteps, Harlem, 1961 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1961 7 7/8 x 10 in. (20 x 25.4 cm) Signed on verso ACO-00025-SP $30,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Novella’s Hands, 1970 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1970 8 3/4 x 13 in. (22.2 x 33 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00036-SP $15,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Goddess and Guitar, 1955 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1955 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (19.1 x 24.1 cm) Signed and titled on verso ACO-00031-SP $15,000 Ed Clark (1926-2019) Lime Green & Pink, 2006 Acrylic on canvas 28 x 39 in. (71.1 x 99.1 cm) Signed and dated on verso ECL-00001-SP $250,000 Ed Clark (1926-2019)

Ed Clark was born in New Orleans, LA and raised in Chicago, IL. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1947 to 1951, and then at L’Academie de la Grande Chamière in Paris in 1952. After spending time in Paris with the intelligentsia of the time, including figures like and Pierre Soulages, Clark moved to New York City in 1957, and was an influential member of the . Known for using a broom to distribute paint across canvases, Clark’s practice straddles both fervent Abstraction Expressionism and more muted Minimalism.

Adger Cowans met Clark through Bill Hutson in the late 1970s, and they became fast friends. Clark was tremendously supportive of Cowans’s painting endeavors, and would let Cowans use his studio when he was away for summers in Paris. In 1998 the artists had a two man show titled Sweeps & Views: Clark & Cowans, referencing Clark’s brush sweeping and Cowans’s combing techniques. Ed Clark (1926-2019) Untitled, 1980 Work on paper 38 x 50 in. (96.5 x 127 cm) Signed and dated on recto ECL-00000-SP $250,000 Portrait of Ed Clark by Adger Cowans Ed Clark (1926-2019) Untitled, 1991 Acrylic on canvas 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm) Signed and dated on verso ECL-00002-SP $150,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Untitled, 1970 Acrylic on black canvas 55 1/2 x 55 3/4 in. (141 x 141.6 cm) Signed and dated on recto ACO-00071-SP $150,000

Adger Cowans (1936) Orbiting, 1998 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 72 in. (152.4 x 182.9 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00074-SP $150,000 Deeply rooted in , Cowans’s early paintings are defined not by the use of brushes, but rather, combs and custom made beveled glass squeegees employed to create sweeping patterns. These outsized gesticulations endow the works with fluidity and a sense of motion. The “comb paintings” are directly influenced by Cowans’s photographs of water and the artist’s desire to use paint as the subject as opposed to creating an image of something else simply using paint. Cowans sites Wassily Kandinsky, , and Wifredo Lam as influences, and points to a group of Contemporary artists of the time including Jack Whitten, Peter Bradley, Daniel Johnson, Bill Hutson, and Ed Clark as fellow painters who all drew inspiration from one another. Cowans had an exhibition at Cinque Gallery, a space dedicated to showing work by established and new African-American artists, and would be become close friends with gallery founder and artist who asked Cowans to teach him photography. Bearden would later contribute to the publication Adger Cowans, Personal Vision, published by Glitterati, a monograph spanning fifty years of Cowans’s career.

Adger Cowans (1936) Water Patterns, c. 1960s Gelatin silver print mounted to board, printed c. 1960s 8 3/4 x 8 1/2 in. (22.2 x 21.6 cm) Signed and dated with stamps on mount verso ACO-00076-SP $18,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Duke Delivers, 1961 Gelatin silver print, printed later 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm) Edition of 10 ACO-00079-SP $9,500

Adger Cowans (1936) Wave Series #10, 1970 Acrylic on black canvas 19 1/2 x 35 in. (49.5 x 88.9 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00070-SP $65,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Golden Future, c. 1969 Acrylic on black canvas 55 x 56 in. (139.7 x 142.2 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00077-SP $175,000 Jack Whitten (1939-2018)

Jack Whitten is best known for expressing the materiality of paint. Combining a diverse background of brief pre-medical studies in Tuskegee, Alabama and then ultimately transferring to The for his BFA in painting in 1964, Whitten’s practice stretches the physical dimensions and materiality of paint. Employing a large rake to move paint across canvases, Whitten was able to create entire paintings in a single gesture. This practice evolved into the artist’s iconic tesserae, which are small pieces of acrylic paint adhered to the canvas. Whitten remains one of the most influential abstract and conceptual painters of his time.

Cowans originally met Whitten through a girlfriend, and then the artists became further acquainted through various studio visits. In 1968/1969, Cowans rented Whitten’s studio after a trip to Brazil, which allowed him more room to work on his paintings. A lasting friendship was formed, and Cowans notes Whitten’s Christmas parties, which included long guest lists of many artists of the day, as particularly lively.

Portrait of Jack Whitten by Adger Cowans Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Sunstroke, 1971 Acrylic on canvas 22 3/4 x 29 in. (57.8 x 73.7 cm) Signed, titled, dated and inscribed on verso JWH-00000-SP $275,000

Adger Cowans (1936) Ark Scape, 1984 Acrylic on black canvas 46 x 60 in. (116.8 x 152.4 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00073-SP $150,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Orbiting Series #2, 2006 Acrylic on canvas 26 x 46 in. (66 x 116.8 cm) Signed, titled and dated on verso ACO-00081-SP $75,000 Adger Cowans (1936) Pops (Gordon Parks), 1985 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1985 8 x 11 1/2 in. (20.3 x 29.2 cm) Signed, titled and dated on recto ACO-00045-SP $18,000 Gordon Parks (1912-2006)

Gordon Parks, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, had a prolific career and is most notable for his documentation of the social conditions of the United States. Although never formally trained, early in his career Parks held photography positions at the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information, and those experiences were influential as the artist honed his distinct style. Parks branched out to work with publications such as Ebony and Glamour, eventually finding a home at LIFE Magazine for over two decades as a photographer and writer. Parks was also an accomplished filmmaker, musical composer, and writer, and pursued all mediums until his death in 2006.

As a young photography student, Cowans was in search of mentorship from another African American who was on a similar path. When Cowans arrived in New York City in 1958, he called Parks at LIFE, and Parks invited Cowans to live with his family, and to be his assistant. Cowans and Parks formed a close, familial relationship, and remained friends for life. Cowans refers to Parks as his “artist father”.

Gordon Parks (1912-2006) , Chicago, 1941 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1970s 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm) GPA-00001-SP $12,000 Gordon Parks (1912-2006) Husband and Wife, Sunday Morning, Detroit, Michigan, 1950 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1970s 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm) GPA-00003-SP $12,000 “Not only is Adger Cowans one of America’s finest photographers, he is, as well, one it its finest painters. Through film and paint, his keen, sensitive eye hauntingly reveals things, places, and moments that make up bonfires of our lives; those shadows we live and swim in as we grind out the drama of everyday existence. Often such talent as his abides by the rules set by others, but his individualism sets him apart – simply because he follows his own convictions. His photographs and paintings are possessed with certainties and reasons, and one has a thirst to see more. They go as far as imagery can go without actually speaking. Cowans has acquired the freedom to master himself. Obviously he became free from the moment he chose to be.”

-Gordon Parks, 1994

Gordon Parks (1912-2006) Red Jackson, Harlem, New York, 1948 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1970s 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm) GPA-00002-SP $12,000 Gordon Parks (1912-2006) , 1966 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1970s 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm) GPA-00000-SP $20,000 Adger Cowans Exhibition History

Solo Exhibitions

2018 Personal Vision: The Exhibition, Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock AR 2017 Personal Vision, New Door Creative Gallery, Baltimore, MD 2007 Running Deep, The Phillips Museum, Franklin Marshall College, Lancaster PA 2005 Imagie: The Paintings of Adger Cowans, Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock AR 1994 Illuminations: Paintings and Photographs, Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, NY 1992 New Interlude: Recent Paintings, Stiral Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 1987 New Black and Gold Masked Dream Series, Janet Moody Gallery, New York, NY 1986 Rhythmic Visions: The Gallery Show, New York, NY 1986 Suriname, Martinique International Black Arts Festival, Martinique, West Indies 1985 The Djukas of Suriname, Raymond Ker Gallery, New York, NY 1983 Canvas Rhythms, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 1983 Black and White Show for a Black and White Time, New York, NY 1983 New American Artist, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY 1983 Gallery 62, Urban League, New York, NY 1982 New York’s Most Visionary Artist, Jazzonia Gallery, Detroit MI 1982 Spectrum Tones, Karamu House, Cleveland, OH 1981 Moments, Green Space, New York, NY 1980 Masked Dreams and African Suite, Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI 1979 Cinque Gallery, New York, NY 1977 Jade Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA 1976 William Easley Collectors Exhibit, New York NY 1975 Shado Gallery Oregon City, OR 1975 Impressions, Friends Gallery, James Van Der Zee Institute, New York, NY 1974 Omega House Gallery, New York, NY 1973 Omega House Gallery, New York, NY 1972 US Library, Tangiers Morocco 1971 Acts of Art Gallery: Rebuttal to The Whitney, Hunter College Art Galleries 1968 Ketchum, MacLeod and Grove Gallery, New York, NY 1968 United States Information Agency Traveling Exhibit, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe 1967 Warwick and Legler, New York, NY 1967 Cunningham and Walsh, New York NY 1967 Benton and Bowles, New York, NY 1967 Heliography Gallery, New York, NY 1966 Batten, Barton, Durston and Osborne, New York 1966 Grey Advertising, New York 1966 First World Festival of Negro Arts, Dakar, Senegal 1965 McCann-Ericson, New York, NY 1963 The Heliographers, Heliography Gallery, New York, NY

Group Exhibitions

2020 Kamoinge: The First Twenty Years, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Whitney Museum, New York, NY 2020 Soul of a Nation, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston TX 2019 The Art of Rebellion, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI 2019 Soul of a Nation, San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts 2019 Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop, Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, CA 2019 Africobra, Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans, LA 2018 Soul of a Nation, Tate Modern, London, UK, Crystal Bridges, AR, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn NY, The Broad, Los Angeles, CA 2018 People, Places and Things, Stanek Gallery, , PA 2018 Africobra, Galarie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD 2018 Africobra, Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York NY 2016 Never Done, City Lights Gallery, Bridgeport, CT 2016 Walton Gallery, Frame X Frame, St Petersburg, FL 2016 New Works, Hearne Fine Arts Gallery, Little Rock, AR 2016 New Photography, Merton Simpson Gallery, New York, NY 2015 Like Then and Now: Looking Through the Lens of Three Leading African-American Artists, Merton Simpson Gallery, New York, NY 2015 Timeless: The Photographs of Kamoinge, Kenkelaba Gallery, NY 2011 Audiodacity: Music as Muse, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2011 Elements of Soul, Chashama Gallery, New York, NY 2010 Mahogany Due II: American Artist in South Hampton, South Hampton Historical, South Hampton, NY 2009 Beyond Perception, Dell Pryor Gallery, Detroit, MI 2009 Sound, Print, Record: African American Legacies, University of , Wilmington, DE 2008 Visual Essence, Dell Pryor Gallery, Detroit, MI 2008 Collaborations: Two Decades of Excellences, Hearne Fine Art Gallery, Little Rock, AR 2008 Cowans Phillips Harris, International Art Gallery, Washington, DC. 2008 Apart Together, HP Garcia Gallery, New York, NY 2007 Not Where, But When, HP Garcia Gallery, New York, NY 2007 Lyrical Art Form, Hip Hop, A Global Notice, Dell Pryor Gallery, Detroit, MI 2007 Star Struck, Tullia Booth Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY 2007 Current: Contemporary Photographs by Former Heliographers, HP Garcia Gallery, New York, NY 2007 Africobra, Hampton University Museum, Jamestown, VA 2006 Kamoinge, Columbia College, Chicago, IL 2005 Chemistry of Color, Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA 2003 Water, Tullia Booth Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY 2002 Different Directions, New Jersey School of Architecture Gallery 2001 Biennale Internazional dell’arte Contemporanea Firenze, Italy 2001 Reflections In Black, Smithsonian African America Photography, Detroit, MI 2001 Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY 2001 Call and Response: Curated by Adger Cowans, Dell Pryor Gallery Detroit, MI 2001 Time Lapse, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2000 Blackness In Color, Herbert Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 1999 Gallery M, New York, NY 1999 Locating the Spirit: Religion and Spirituality in African American Art, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, Washington, DC 1999 World Famous Artist International Show and Korean – American Artists, Cho Hyung Gallery, Seoul, Korea 1998 Black NY Artist of the 20th Century, Schomburg Center, New York, NY 1998 Seeing , Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC 1998 Sweeps and Views: Clark and Cowans, Rush Art Gallery, New York, NY 1997 Group Show, Cathedral of St John the Divine. New York, NY 1996 Captured Moments: Cowans, Dubasky, Thompson, June Kelly Gallery, New York, NY 1996 Just Jazz, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 1995 Two Contemporary Photographers, Emily Lowe Gallery at Hofstra Museum, Hamsted N.Y. 1993 I Sight: Adger Cowans and Toni Parks, Gordon Parks Gallery at The School of New Resources, Bronx, NY 1993 Three New Perspectives: Cowans, Walker, Pontiflet, Cinque Gallery, New York, NY 1993 Contemporary African American Artist, College of Fine Arts, Palermo, Italy 1992 Photography Show, Cinque Gallery, New York, NY 1991 In The Full Effect, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH 1990 Selected Photographs: The Paul Jones Collection, Spellman College, , GA 1989 Contemporary African American Print Makers, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT 1987 Abstract, Triangle Fine Arts International, New York, NY 1986 Two Schools: NY and Chicago, Kenkeleba House and Jamaica Arts Center, Queens, NY 1984 Morning of the Blue Queen, Public Arts Piece, First Women’s Bank, New York, NY 1983 New American Arts, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, New York NY 1983 Contemporary African American Photographers, Featherstone Art Museum, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Greensboro, NC, Los Angeles, CA, Oberlin, OH 1981 Moments, Green Space Gallery, New York NY 1979 SoWeTo, African – American Heritage Studies Conference Exhibition, United Nations Building, New York, NY 1979 Africobra – Farafandugu, Center D’Art, Port Au Prince, Haiti 1979 Self Portraits Exhibit, Black Enterprise Magazine, Black Photographers Annual Exhibit, US Tour 1978 Roosevelt Public Gallery, Roosevelt City, NY 1977 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (SESPAC), Lagos, Nigeria 1977 CBO: Color Images, Seagram Building, New York, NY 1976 Just Above: David Hammond, Adger Cowans, John Pinderhughes, Al Fennar, Midtown Gallery, New York, NY 1976 Photography in the Fine Arts (Curated by Ivan Dmitri), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 1975 Kamoinge Group Show, Harvard University, , MA 1975 Kamoinge Workshop Group Show, International Center of Photography, New York, NY 1974 Kamoinge Group Show, Chicago School of Design, Chicago, Il 1973 Kamoinge Group Show, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 1972 Kamoinge Group Show, Studio Museum, Harlem, NY 1970 Kamoinge Group Show, Chicago School of Design, Chicago, IL 1970 Kamoinge Group Show, 141st Street Gallery, New York, NY 1968 New trends in Photography, DeCordova Museum, University of New Hampshire, Lincoln, MA and Durham, NH. 1967 Photography in the Fine Arts, Curated by Ivan Dmitri, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (Tour for 29 major art museums in the United States) 1967 The Heliographers, Lever House Gallery 1966 First World Festival of Negro Arts, Dakar Senegal 1963 International Group Show, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY 1963 Yolo International Show, Yolo, CA Museum Collections

The National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Washington D.C, Mott Museum Collection, Flint MI, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit MI, St Louis Fine Art Museum, St, Louis, MO, Whitney Museum, New York, NY, Reginald L Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD, Mosaic Templar Cultural Center, Little Rock, AR, Howard University, Washington D.C., Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, University of Delaware, Wilmington, DE, Museum of The National Center of Afro-Ameri- can Arts, Boston, MA

Awards and Special Recognition

2017 Lifetime Achievement Award, Howard University; 2010 Color: Special Issues/Merit Award; 2007 Limited Edition: Portfolio of Photo- graphs for Photo-Lens Project by NCA; 2002 Delivered a lecture and slide presentation of D’jukas at the University of Paris, Paris France; 2001 Recipient of The Lorenzo II Magnifico Alla Carriera Award in recognition of a distinguished career in Florence, Italy; 2001 Recipient of Gordon Parks Legendary Award Given by The Exposure Group, Washington D.C.; 1999 Scholarly Paper delivered to the University of The Antilles, on the relationship between jazz and painting, Martinique, French West Indies; 1992 Inducted Into Columbus Public Schools Hall Of Fame, Columbus Ohio; 1987 Martin Luther King, Jr., Caesar Chavez, Visiting Scholar, Wayne State University, Detroit MI; 1987 Exhibitor, The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting’s Movie Week Gracie Mansion, New York, NY; 1986 Photography Portfolio and People, DRUM Magazine, University of , Amherst, MA; 1985 Visiting Artists, Printmaking Workshop, New York, NY; 1985 1st Prize for So We To (etching), Atlanta Life International Arts Competition, Atlanta, GA; 1984 Morning of the Blue Queen (Dedicated to Wilfredo Lam) commissioned by Tony Goldman for Public Arts Piece, SoHo Kitchen and Bar, New York, NY; 1983 Consultant, The Afro – American Historical and Cultural Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; 1978 - ‘79 Consultant, LD Group International, New York, NY; 1976 - ‘77 Bi-Centennial Exhibition, Afro – America Historical Cultural Museum, Philadelphia, PA; 1967 Exhibitor and Lecturer, World Con- ference on Photography, Coral Gables, FL; 1963 1st Prize for Sun and Trees (Black and White Photo), Yolo International Exhibition, Yolo, CA; 1958 - ‘60 Winner of American Spirit Award, awarded by The US Armed Forces Self-Portrait by Adger Cowans