Artist

Daniel Pressley

born Wasamasaw, SC 1918-died New York City 1971
Born
Wasamasaw, South Carolina, United States
Died
New York, New York, United States
Biography

Daniel Pressley was an African American whose family had a farm in South Carolina. When he was still quite young, his father was shot by a white neighbor. Shortly after, his mother also died and the brothers and sisters moved to Ohio. Pressley lived in New York City during the 1960s, where he started to carve and paint images that dealt with his experiences as a black man in Harlem. Even though he experienced firsthand the effects of racism, drug abuse, and poverty, his paintings often show spontaneous moments of joyous singing and dancing. (Shari Cavin, "Daniel Pressley, Sweet and Bitter Streets," 1999, Diggs Gallery, Winston Salem State University)

Works by this artist (2 items)

Daniel Pressley, The Soprano at the Mourning Easter Wake of 1968, 1968, varnished walnut relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.78
The Soprano at the Mourning Easter Wake of 1968
Artist
Date1968
varnished walnut relief
On view
Daniel Pressley, Relief, ca. 1960-1965, carved and stained wood relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.29
Relief
Artist
Dateca. 1960-1965
carved and stained wood relief
Not on view

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