By and About Women

The Harvey B. Gantt Center is delighted to present By and About Women: The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke. Dr. Whitfield-Locke and her husband, Dr. Carnell Locke, are avid art collectors and are also committed supporters of artists and African-American art institutions.

By and About Women highlights selected works from their extensive collection which were either created by female artists or feature women as the subject. Like their larger collection, this exhibition represents a comprehensive history of art-making in general, and African-American art, specifically. Sculpture, sketches, oils, acrylics, paintings and collages fill the gallery.

Masterpieces by pioneering women including Betye Saar, Camille Billops, Samella Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett, Emma Amos, Lois Mailou Jones, Faith Ringgold, and Augusta Savage headline the exhibition. The Lockes have also gathered work by E. J. Montgomery, Howardena Pindell, and Jacob Lawrence’s wife, Gwendolyn Knight. Works by multi-media artists such as Robin Holder, Clarissa Sligh, Margo Humphrey and Alison Saar also appear in the gallery. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website 

Image: Shirley Woodson, Grey Silk Waist, Blue Dress, Father and Sons, 1996, Courtesy of Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke