Release date: May 14, 2007
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Renowned Artist Benny Andrews to Receive Posthumous Honorary Degree

One of Georgia’s best-known and most beloved artists, the late Benny Andrews, will be bestowed a posthumous honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during Emory University's 162nd commencement ceremony Monday, May 14. Andrews’ degree will be presented to J. Richard Gruber, director of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, by Emory College Dean Robert A. Paul.

Born in Plainview, Ga., to parents who had little money but who instilled in their children the importance of education, freedom and creativity, Andrews was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He went on to attend Georgia's Fort Valley State College from 1948 to 1950; serve in the United States Air Force as a staff sergeant from 1950 to 1954; and then attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received a bachelor’s degree of fine arts in 1958.

An African American painter, collage artist and activist, Andrews’ work is represented at the High Museum, and a major wing of the Ogden Museum in New Orleans is devoted to his work. Between 1960 and 1970, he had 11 solo shows at the Paul Kessler Gallery in Provincetown, Mass., and three at the Forum Gallery in New York City. Andrews’ personal papers are housed in Emory’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library.

Andrews received many awards and recognition for his works, including the John Hay Whitney Fellowship, the O’Hara Museum Prize and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. He served as director of visual arts for the National Endowment for the Arts from 1988–1994, where he worked tirelessly to promote diversity and excellence in the arts.

Andrews earned a reputation as a political activist, fighting for recognition of African American artists and culture. Andrews died on Nov. 10, 2006, two months after receiving Emory President

James Wagner’s invitation for this honorary degree. Although Andrews’ charm, wit, passion and eloquence will be missed, his art will continue to inspire.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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