Blanch Ackers
Blanch Ackers | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 28, 1914 |
| Died | May 24, 2003 (aged 88) |
Blanch Ackers (November 28, 1914 – May 24, 2003) was an African-American folk artist,[1][2] who was born in Arkansas but spent most of her life in Michigan. She began drawing and painting while in her seventies, and her work has been acquired by the University of Michigan Museum of Art.[2]
Early life
Ackers was born in 1914 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to Paul (a poor sharecropper)[2] and Harriet (Williams) Markham.[3] She had one brother, James Markham.[3]
Career
She moved to the Detroit area with her brother in 1943 to work for a factory, as part of the Great Migration,[4] then later to Ypsilanti, where she spent the rest of her life.[2]
In 1985, Ackers began to work in the Willow Run School District as a foster grandparent, through a program run by Child and Family Services.[2][3]
Art
While working as a teacher's aide at Ford Elementary School in Ypsilanti, the school's art teacher, Christine Hennessy, introduced her to drawing and watercolor painting.[2][5] Her drawings, such as Homestead and Yellow Interior, often reflected her memories of growing up in Arkansas.[2]
In 2002, the University of Michigan Museum of Art acquired five of her drawings.[6]
On her work, Ackers once said, "I imagine it and I start drawing."[4]
She was represented by the Pardee Collection.[7]
Later life
Ackers had one daughter, Birdes Lawrence Gardner, and two sons, Brodis Williams and Willie Williams.[3] She died in 2003 at a nursing home.[3]
References
- ↑ "FOLK OUT LOUD | Fine, Folk, Outsider & Ethnographic Art". Material Culture. January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2020 – via Issuu.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Meehan, Lindsay (2002). "Two Girls - Blanch Ackers - Description". University of Michigan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 10 October 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Blanch Ackers Obituary - Ypsilanti, Michigan". Ann Arbor News. MLive Media Group. 27 May 2003. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- 1 2 Meehan, Lindsay (2002). "Homestead - Blanch Ackers - Description". University of Michigan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ Meehan, Lindsay (2002). "School - Blanch Ackers - Description". University of Michigan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 7 February 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ "Search: Works of Art: "Blanch Ackers"". University of Michigan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ "Blanch Ackers". Pardee Collection. Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- 20th-century American women artists
- American folk artists
- American women folk artists
- Artists from Michigan
- People from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- 1914 births
- 2003 deaths
- 20th-century African-American artists
- People from Ypsilanti, Michigan
- 21st-century African-American artists
- 21st-century African-American women artists
- 20th-century African-American women artists