DEDICATION

          A Proud Continuum: Eight Decades of Art at Howard University is dedicated to James Amos Porter (1905-1970), in the centennial year of his birth. Artist, scholar, art historian, and Father of African American Art History, he chronicled our story, while serving as mentor to the legions of students who matriculated in the Department of Art.

          A graduate of Armstrong Manual Training School of the District of Columbia in 1923, Porter entered the Department of Art in September of that year on scholarship. He received the Bachelor of Science in Art from Howard University in June, 1927, and was hired as an instructor to teach drawing and painting by James V. Herring, founder and first chairman of the department.

          Porter continued his studies at the Fine Arts Graduate Center, New York University, graduating in 1937 with a Master of Arts in Art History. Modern Negro Art, his landmark historical tome, was published in 1943. A decade later he assumed the leadership of the department and became the second chairman, and second director of the Gallery of Art. Porter remained in those positions until his death, February 28, 1970. We dedicate this exhibition to our beloved mentor.