Raymond Howell

Art Brokerage: Raymond Howell American Artist: b. 1927-2002. Raymond Howell was born in Oakland, California on September 7, 1927. A painter, printmaker, collage artist, and muralist, Howell was self taught, citing an elementary school "punishment" as sparking his artistic path: for bad behavior, he was made to draw life-sized sketches of his fellow students on the blackboard. Howell often spoke of his experience as an African American child raised in the foster care system as a major influence on his career, both as an artist and an advocate and teacher for arts programs for minority children. By the late 1950s Howell was a self-supporting artist who had exhibited in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and Provincetown. He became known for his images of jazz musicians, African American culture, and children at play. In the 1960s he opened Art Associates West gallery and art school in San Francisco, which remained a fixture for nearly a decade. In 1965 he debuted his painting, "The Brown Family", at the opening of the Oakland Museum, which later purchased the work for its permanent collection. Howell is widely credited with encouraging and promoting Black art and imagery when there was little interest from the American art world. He died on January 6, 2002, the same day the Oakland Museum opened an exhibition of his recent works. Listings wanted.