Clark Atlanta University inarguably possesses one of the country's outstanding historic African-American art collections, including prized pieces by the likes of Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, Romare Bearden and Lois Mailou Jones. Now add to that list Robert Reid.
While the Reid, an Atlanta native who died in 2000, is not nearly as well known as those artists, a current exhibit at CAU Art Galleries aims to elevate his profile. Reid, who attended the old Clark College for two years before being drafted into the Navy in 1943, is represented in major collections including the Studio Museum in Harlem.
But New York gallery owner June Kelly, who represents Reid's work, nonetheless believes he "slipped through the cracks."
After his service, Reid studied at the Art Institute in Chicago and the Parsons School of Design in New York. He taught at the Rhode Island School of Design for nearly two decades while exhibiting his paintings, many of which made use of glyphs and pictograms based on nautical imagery, in New York and around the Northeast.
Reid's sister, Neloise Adkins, who recently donated four works by her brother to CAU's permanent collection, will be honored at a public reception on Sunday afternoon.
On view
"Where on Earth: The Art of Robert Reid"
Public reception 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Through April 29 at Clark Atlanta University's Trevor Arnett Hall. 11-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. Suggested donation: $5. 223 James P. Brawley Drive S.W., Atlanta. 404-880-6102, www.cau.edu/Academics_Collections.aspx.
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