"James-Amos-Porter" (December 22,1905-February 28,1970)W

Was a pioneer in establishing the field of  African American art history.He instrumental as the first scholar to provide a systematic,criticial analysis of African-American artists and their work of art.An artist himself,he provided a unique and critical approach to the analysis of the work.Dedicated to educating and writing about African-American artists,James set the foundation for artists and art historians to provide an unearth the necessary skills essential to their artistic and scholarly endeavors.James determination to document and view African-American art in the context of American art created the canon.Born in Baltimore,Maryland,James had a long career in the visual arts as an artists and historian.Under the direction of  James Vernon Herring,heading of the Art Department at Howard University,James studied painting,drawing,and art history.He was a member of  Alpha Phi Alpha.


Upon graduating with a bachelor of science in 1927,he accepted a position as instructor of painting and drawing at Howard.Throughout his academic professional career,James also painted,and continued to exhibit nationally and internationally.


After completing undergraduate work,James attended the Art Institute in New York City.He also studied in Paris at the Institute of Art and Archelogy at the Sorbonne,where he received a Certificat de Presence in 1935.When James returned to the United States,he pursued an M.A. in art history at New York University,completing it in 1937.James thesis,later the foundation for his book,Modern Negro Art,focused on African-American artists and artisans.


During his studies,he met Dorothy Burnett,a librarian at the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library,where he did research.On December 27,1929 James & Dorothy were married .They one daughter,Constance Porter.They became professional as well as personal partners.Dorothy worked with James,providing bibliographic information critical to his investigations.Both worked at Howard University.Dorothy worked with James,providing bibliographic information critical to his investigations.Both worked at Howard University.Dorthy was the director of Moorland Foundation,later known as the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.She developed and catalogued information about African-American artists.

James interest in nearly forgotten and often ignored artists of African descent was sparked by reading a brief article on African-American landscape artist Robert Scott Duncanson.Due to the account's brevity,James followed his curiosity to research Robert and other artists  of African descent.
He published  Modern Negro Art in 1943,the first comprehensive study in the United States of African American art.James decisively placed African-American artists within the framework of American art.He was the first to recognize and document the significant  contributions these artists made to the history of American art. With James systematic approach,Modern Negro Art,became and still is the foundation of African-American art history and later texts.

James included art of Cuba,Haiti,and Africa in his investigations of artists of the African diaspora.He visited Haiti and Cuba on a Rockefeller Foundation grant in 1945/46.The Cuban government spurned his painting,The Cuban Bus.His through research on these countries and west African stimulated his creating courses at Howard in "Latin American Art" and "African Art and Architecture."

James taught at Howard for more than forty years, together with such artists as James Lesesne Wells and Lois Mailou Jones.He headed the Art Department,and served as Director of the Art Gallery from 1953-1970.

The list of artists who studided under James is long one.It includes Tritoba Hayes Benjamin.David C.Driskell,Sylvia Snowden,Mildred Thompson (1936-2003) and many others.Mildred wrote of James that he


" ... was a kind and gentle teacher.His method was personal and individual.He taught  step by step as if guiding me through an initiation.He watched over the development of my crafts while at the same time helping me to develop the character that would enable me to practice  the craft for a lifetime."


In 1933 he received the Schomburg Portrait Prize,from the Harmon Foundation,for the painting entitled Woman holding a Jug (1930).

In 1965 the National Gallery of Art selected James as one of the best teachers in the nation.Together with 24 other honorees,he was presented the award by Lady Bird Johnson.