Biography Herbert Gentry

1 biography

1.1 harlem renaissance childhood
1.2 expatriate years

1.2.1 paris, 1946–58
1.2.2 copenhagen, 1958–62
1.2.3 stockholm, 1963–76
1.2.4 paris, 1976–80
1.2.5 malmö, sweden, 1980–2003


1.3 home in new york, 1969–2003

biography
harlem renaissance childhood

herbert alexander gentry born in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, on july 17, 1919. son of james jentry of madison courthouse, virginia, , violet howden of kingston, jamaica. 1924 gentry living in harlem, new york city, mother , family.

the harlem renaissance provided backdrop gentry s childhood. mother worked dancer , actress. under name teresa gentry, danced in chorus josephine baker , bessye buchanen. later, in cast of original rendition of ziegfeld musical show boat in 1927, revival in 1932. mother s friends included langston hughes, paul robeson , duke ellington.

as youngster gentry had role in play scarlet sister mary, toured country actress ethel barrymore , opened on broadway in 1931. gentry took inspiration artists, musicians, writers, dancers, , actors, of whom reinforced belief in creative world lay beyond harlem.

educated in new york city public schools, gentry attended cooper junior high , george washington high school. pursued drawing in school took art classes @ harlem ymca , later studied art part of under federal art project of wpa (works progress administration) @ roosevelt high school.

in 1939, leadership of harlem protest demonstrations against employment discrimination said have included besides rev. adam clayton powell, jr. gentry s older cousin arnold p. johnson. protester gentry, studying business @ new york university, said have been consolidated edison new york s first black employee in white-collar position , have tolerated being told company directors effect that, if well, ll hire others.

he served in u.s. army (1942–45), serving in 90th coast guard artillery / anti-aircraft regiment working in special services. u.s. army service in world war ii took him different countries in mediterranean , northern europe: morocco, algeria, madeline island (italy), corsica, marseilles, paris, alsace-lorraine (france), , salzburg (austria). @ end of war, gentry stationed in paris suburb of crepy-en-vallois. took every opportunity visit paris.

the expatriate years
paris, 1946–58

the center of art world before world war ii, paris still held title in 1946. paris touched other memories ex-soldier gentry, youth had heard many of mother s friends speak of travel , performances in paris. home in harlem after discharge army, wanted study art in paris. not waiting administration of gi bill organized in paris, , warned basic amenities still rationed, gentry arrived fall 1946 academic term.

his first year in paris, gentry resided @ american house @ cité internationale universitaire de paris, met fellow american students: sculptor kosta alex, pianist julian ketcham, , writers marc behm , dan kurzman. moving beyond student circles, sought out author richard wright, encouraged him in art; got know writer james baldwin.

gentry studied french @ alliance française, , enrolled @ ecole des hautes etudes sociales. académie de la grande chaumière had approach art teaching matched need freedom. spent 3 years studying ossip zadkine , french painter yves brayer. 1949 gentry teaching visiting americans @ académie de la grande chaumière , had first solo parisian exhibition @ galerie de seine.

gentry lived café life in montparnasse, meeting fellow american artists @ le dôme café, le select café , la coupole: sculptors shinkichi tajiri, kosta alex, , harold cousins, painters herbie katzman, john hultberg, burt hasen, haywood bill rivers, sam francis, avel deknight, , painter-filmmaker carmen d avino; ex-gis, students , young artists, casually rubbed shoulders greats such alberto giacometti , georges braque. there many others, including jimmy loverman davis, romare bearden, serge charchoune, george spaventa, corneille, wifredo lam, , jean cocteau.

between 1948 , 1951, gentry opened chez honey, club-galerie in montparnasse, exhibition space day , jazz club night. featuring wife, honey johnson, singer had come europe rex stewart s band, club known place hear modern jazz. pete matz accompanied on piano, dick allen, art simmons , don byas. club attracted international crowd. patrons included jean-paul sartre, simone de beauvoir, juliette greco, eartha kitt, orson welles, jean-louis barrault, , marcel marceau. painter larry rivers, arrived in 1950, jammed professional musicians.

in november 1951 gentry left new york. proved difficult adjustment; in 1953 returned paris on same boat 2 painters become important friends: beauford delaney , larry potter. no longer on gi bill, gentry got work in paris jazz clubs; 1955 arranging entertainment shows allied , american armed forces in france , germany. met many american musicians , dancers, including mary lou williams, maya angelou, , others in paris such art buchwald , moune de rivel. studied privately painter georges braque. active in parisian café life, , larry potter congregated african-american writers chester himes, ollie harrington, among others @ café tournon; gentry socialized visual artists @ café le select , la coupole in montparnasse, met dutch, belgian , scandinavian artists of cobra-group: ejler bille, robert jacobsen, karel appel, carl-henning pedersen, bram bogart, , guillaume cornelis van beverloo (aka corneille). gentry accepted opportunity exhibit @ galerie hybler in copenhagen in 1959, , relocated copenhagen prepare.

copenhagen, 1958–62

copenhagen important jazz capital in europe, , hosted lively african-american community of musicians , artists. after successful solo exhibition @ galerie hybler, gentry remained in copenhagen prepare series of solo exhibitions in northern europe, in denmark, sweden, switzerland, , netherlands. exhibiting paintings in galleries across northern europe. while associating gentry s paintings art of cobra movement, danish critics jen jorgen thorsen , uffe harder declared work distinctly american.

over next 5 years gentry had solo exhibitions @ galerie suzanne bollag, zurich, 1959; galerie die insel, hamburg, 1960; kunstudstillningsbygning, odense, dk, 1960; galerie aestetica, stockholm, se, 1960; galerie perron, geneva, 1961; galerie passpartout, copenhagen, 1961, 1963; galerie leger, malmö, 1962; galerie rudolph meier, davos, 1962. invited exhibit @ den frie, copenhagen, in 1960 group 6 + 2; in 1964 @ den frie gentry included in 10 american negro artists harvey cropper, beauford delaney, clifford jackson, sam middleton, larry potter, walter williams, , others.

stockholm, 1963–76

gentry moved gothenburg, sweden in 1963, , had relocated stockholm 1965. in sweden developed friendships sculptors torsten rehnqvist , willy gordon, , painters bengt lindström, , gösta werner. important solo exhibitions included galerie doktor glas, stockholm, 1967; galerie marya, copenhagen, 1967; galerie zodiaque, brussels, 1967 , vikingsborg museum, helsingborg, 1966.

while living in scandinavia, gentry kept studio in paris through 1980. dedication mobility differentiated gentry of fellow american expatriates. followed model of artists cuban surrealist wifredo lam, kept studios in more 1 country. montparnasse in paris remained central hub european art world.

in stockholm in 1975 gentry honored retrospective exhibition @ royal swedish academy of arts, traveled norrköpings museum, , amos andersson museum in helsinki, finland.

paris, 1976–80

gentry awarded studio @ cité internationale des arts in paris , worked there 4 years. during period experimented, working in acrylic on raw linen. befriended many artists met @ cité: mordecai ardon, gerald jackson, francisca lindberg, christine o loughlin, vicente pimentel, mary anne rose, grace renzi, , ulla waller. had solo exhibitions in united states , sweden: randall gallery, nyc, 1978; fabien carlsson gallery, gothenburg, sweden, 1977; montclair state college, montclair, new jersey, 1977.

malmö, sweden, 1980–2003

in later years, worked less in france , spent more time in new york city. returned sweden , established studio in malmö across Øresund copenhagen. enjoyed slower pace, milder climate , location near continent.he reconnected old friends in copenhagen. prepared paintings , prints gallery exhibitions in sweden, in copenhagen, milan, amsterdam, , other continental cities. artist friendships period included uno svensson , olle bonnier. between 1981 , 1993 had numerous solo exhibitions in europe , scandinavia: galerie futura, stockholm, 1993, 1989; ragnarpers, gärsnäs, se, 1993; falsterbo konsthall, falsterbo, se, 1992; lilla galleriet, helsingborg, se, 1992, 1985; gallerihuset, copenhagen, dk, 1991; bülowska gallery, malmö, 1991, 1987; gallery altes rathaus, inzlingen (basel), de, 1990; gooijer fine arts, amsterdam, ne, 1985; galleria del naviglio, milan, italy, 1984; biblioteca comunale di milano, milan, 1984; gallery asbæk, copenhagen, dk, 1983; galerie oscar, stockholm, 1981.

home in new york, 1969–2003

in 1971, moderna museet director pontus hulten recommended chelsea hotel ideal residence gentry , family take apartment year s stay in new york city. welcomed hotel manager stanley bard, gentry discovered number of artist colleagues paris living , working there. ideal fit, having home in new york made possible gentry return many times , active in new york art world. had exhibitions @ andre zarre gallery (new york), 1974 , selma burke art center, carnegie institute (pittsburgh, pennsylvania), 1972. gentry became permanent resident of chelsea hotel in 1982. renewed old artistic friendships: romare bearden, ed clark, bill hutson, , robert blackburn, , made new ones.

between 1975 , 1995, gentry s creative production fueled mobility. in continuous movement, traveling several times year. commuted between new york , paris (or sweden), while established artistic reputation in united states. during period showed in europe american artist, while in united states exhibited african-american artist.

beginning in 1987, gentry had many one-person exhibitions in united states: alitash kebede gallery, los angeles, california, 2004, 1994, 1987; quick art center, st. bonaventure university, olean, new york, 1995; stella jones gallery, new orleans, louisiana, 1998; stella jones gallery, new orleans, louisiana, 1998; molloy college, rockville centre, new york, 2000; , macy gallery, teachers college, columbia university, new york, 2000; steve turner gallery, beverly hills, california, 2002; parish gallery, georgetown, washington, d.c., 2003. had 9 solo shows @ g. r. n’namdi gallery between 1991 , 2008: in new york, 2008, 2003; in chicago, illinois, 2004, 2000, 1998; in detroit, michigan, 2003; , birmingham, michigan, 1999, 1996, 1991.

two significant exhibitions—organized , exhibited @ studio museum in harlem—were ocean apart in 1982, , explorations in city of light (1996), traveled chicago cultural center, milwaukee museum of art, fort worth art museum , new orleans museum of art.

important retrospective exhibitions since artist s death in 2003 include: herbert gentry: moved music , wadsworth atheneum, amistad center art , culture, hartford, connecticut, 2006; herbert gentry: man magic master , james e. lewis museum @ morgan state university in baltimore, maryland, 2007; herbert gentry: man magic master , diggs gallery, winston-salem state university, north carolina, 2008; herbert gentry: facing other ways , rush rhees library rare books , special collections, university of rochester, rochester, new york, 2007; face face , phillips museum of art, franklin & marshall college, lancaster, pennsylvania, 2005.