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About The Kinsey Collection

The Kinsey Collection consists of the personal treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey and includes paintings, sculptures, prints, books, historical documents, manuscripts, and vintage photographs.

The Kinsey's began collecting to create memories of their travels, gradually building their "collection" into a narrative of African-American culture.

Collecting is now their passion, and they consider themselves to be stewards of history rather than owners of art. This includes securing historical documents and artifacts at auction, from slave shackles to Frederick Douglass' I Must Mourn speech.

The Kinsey Collection has been hosted by notable museums across the United States including the Smithsonian.

About the Artists

Hale Woodruff was the first art instructor at the Atlanta University Center, where he began a national exhibition of black artists—held annually from 1942 to 1970— at Atlanta University.

Robert Scott Duncanson was born in 1821 to an African-American mother and Canadian father of Scottish descent. He traveled widely, studying in Italy and England, and became well-known for his portraits, still lifes, and landscapes before his death in 1872.

Hughie Lee–Smith served in the U.S. Navy from 1943–1945 as an official painter and went on to become an artist-in-residence at an HBCU, Howard University, from 1969–1971.

Bill Dallas received a BFA in painting from the University of California, Berkeley. Music is often featured in his work, as seen in his painting Blue Jazz. His work has been exhibited in California and New York.

Tina Allen is a sculptor and painter born in 1955. Her bust of Frederick Douglass was featured in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee and in the documentary Story of a People—Expressions in Black.

Samuel L. Dunson, Jr. was born in 1970 and began painting seriously during his second year at Tennessee State University, an HBCU. After graduating, he later returned to teach as an assistant art professor.

Artis Lane (right) was born in 1927, a descendant of educator and abolitionist Mary Ann Shadd. She was awarded a scholarship to the Ontario College of Art at age 15, and was the first woman admitted to Cranbrook Art Academy. She first became known for her portraits of such dignitaries as Jaqueline Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and Ronald Reagan. In later years, she began to focus on social issues in her work, such as The Beginning, a painting of Rosa Parks seated on the historic bus, and Tear on the Face of America. The painting above is a portrait of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, owners of the Kinsey Collection.

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