William R. Christopher
Artist seated in his studio
Christopher in his studio, circa 1949
BornMarch 4, 1924
DiedDecember 5, 1973
NationalityAmerican
Known forPainting

William Rodolphus Christopher (March 4, 1924 – December 5, 1973) was an American artist and civil rights activist[1] known for his abstract imagery and collage.[2] Christopher taught at Dartmouth College and served as a representative of the Dartmouth chapter of the NAACP.[3] He participated in the March 13–15, 1965 civil rights demonstrations marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.[3] His painting Dark Mirror was chosen by Martin Luther King, Jr. to hang in his office at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta.[4] His longtime partner was the artist George Tooker; the pair lived in New York City until 1960, when they moved to Hartland, Vermont; the couple spent winters in Spain, where Christopher died in December 1973.[1][5] His papers are held at the Archives of American Art.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Smee, Sebastian (1 March 2009). "Reappearing Act". The Boston Globe.
  2. ^ "William Christopher". askART. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  3. ^ a b "William Christopher diary of march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama (1965 March 13-15)". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  4. ^ Linden, Diana L. (Fall 2019). ""In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King": White Privilege and White Masks in William Christopher's Paintings of 1963". American Art. 33 (3): 56–73. doi:10.1086/707476. S2CID 213633908 – via UChicago Journals.
  5. ^ Grimes, William (2011-03-29). "George Tooker, Painter Capturing Modern Anxieties, Dies at 90". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  6. ^ "A Finding Aid to the William Christopher papers, circa 1920s-circa 1973". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-15.

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