Migrants

Samella Lewis was an African American artist and art historian. Lewis advocated for art as an essential expression of community and its social concerns. She attended graduate school at Ohio State University, where she was the first African American woman to complete a joint doctoral degree in art history and studio art. Lewis organized the first professional conference for African American artists, established the first African American-owned art publishing house, authored histories of African American art, and founded the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. Lewis was a painter, watercolorist, and sculptor, but is best remembered for her figurative works on paper like “Migrants.”