Sentry Arts

It’s , and to celebrate, we’re rounding up some of the incredible art educators who have imprinted themselves not only on the world of fine arts, but on the hundreds of students they took under their mentorship.

Charles White (1918–1979) was a dedicated educator and influential artist who mentored artists across generations. While he began his teaching career as a professor of fine arts at Dillard University, and eventually as a teacher in the New York public school system, he was most notably the first African-American faculty member at the Otis Art Institute (1965–1979).

His teaching style emphasized craft, of course, but also social justice; he encouraged his students to use their art as a means of sharing their political voice. His art did exactly that.



📸: (from left to right)

🎨 Portrait of Charles White, via Amsterdam News

🖌️Charles White, Our Land, 1951. Private Collection. © The Charles White Archives. Photo: Gavin Ashworth. Courtesy Jonathan Boos.

Commissioned in 1589 by the famous Medici family of Italy, Palazzo Vecchio, a massive Neptune fountain that sits at the center of Tuscany’s capital, has stood for hundreds of years with only occasional wear-and-tear warranting repairs. That is…. until tourists happen.

A 28-year-old bride-to-be from an undisclosed country mounted the Neptune statue in the hopes of capturing a photo— she wanted to grope the Neptune, a “humorous” moment of bachelorette fun that resulted in over $5,000 in damages.

In climbing the statue, the woman damaged the legs of the two horses on Neptune’s chariot as well as the frieze she used to support herself.

This is one of the many tourist-induced repairs that has come from overtourism and loss of control over massive crowds.

Moral of the story? No matter where you go, respect art!

In this week’s Art News, we’re highlighting a new exhibition at MoMA that celebrates the man best known for his…. Controversial Toilet?

The retrospective exhibition of Marcel Duchamp, the Dada artist responsible for “The Fountain”, will be hosted at the MoMA in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and will feature some of the artist’s best known works, including his collection of “Readymades”, or works designed from existing items.

This will be the first US retrospective of the artist in over 50 years.



📸: Marcel Duchamp with The Large Glass (1915–1923), Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1965

It may be April Fool's Day, but all jokes aside, it's also the first day of Arab American Heritage Month!

This week, we're celebrating the sundry of incredible artists who identify with an Arab American heritage.



🎨 Helen Zughaib’s “Abaya Mondrian” (“Changing Perceptions”), gouache on paper. (© HELEN ZUGHAIB)

It’s , and to celebrate we’re highlighting some of the incredible women who have made a lasting impact— in history and the present tense— in the arts community.

Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, was an American and Mexican sculptor and graphic artist who was known for her depictions of the 20th century Black-American experience, often portraying women and motherhood in the Modernist mix of abstract and figurative expression.

The child of formerly enslaved parents, Catlett struggled to find opportunities for her to practice as a black woman artist. However, she devoted her career to teaching, and eventually received a fellowship that allowed her to travel to Mexico City and establish herself as an artist.

Despite having her admissions revoked from Carnegie Institute of Technology after the administration discovered she was black, despite being told she couldn’t stay in dormitories when accepted to University of Iowa’s graduate program; despite facing years of rejection and hardship, Elizabeth Catlett became the first woman of African-American descent to receive her MFA from U of I, and developed a strong career and reputation in the world of art and sculpture. Her career spanned over half a century, and her legacy is one of resilience, dedication, and brilliance.

📸: (from left to right)

🖼️ Photo of Elizabeth Catlett taken by Charles Storer, courtesy of the June Gallery

🎨 Elizabeth Catlett, Survivor (1983). Courtesy of the Johnson Collection

⭐️Elizabeth Catlett, Mother and Child (1993). Courtesy of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

🖌️ Elizabeth Catlett, War Worker (1943). Courtesy of the Johnson Collection

🌟 Elizabeth Catlett, Mother and Child (1956). Courtesy of MoMA.