Barbara Blackmun

Barbara Winston Blackmun (June 29, 1928 – July 6, 2018) was an art historian, professor, and museum director from the United States. She specialized in Nigerian antiquities, including Nok terracottas, the bronzes of Ife, and the bronzes and ivories of the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria. She was also known for her early use of computer analysis for motif identification (see image analysis) and interpretation in African art. Born in Merced, California, Blackmun pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a teaching certificate at UCLA. She earned her Master of Arts from Arizona State University, focusing on Maravi masks from Malawi, and later completed her PhD at UCLA with a dissertation on the iconography of carved altar tusks from Benin, Nigeria.

Blackmun's legacy is marked by her extensive research and publications, which have provided deeper insights into the historical and cultural significance of Nigerian artifacts. Her work was recognized with a Fulbright and National Endowment for the Humanities grant. She was a faculty of San Diego Mesa College, where she taught art history courses for nearly 4 decades. Beyond her research, Blackmun's dedication to education and her role in the Arts Council for the African Studies Association demonstrate her commitment to the advancement of African art studies.

Early life and education Barbara Winston was born in Merced, California, on June 29, 1928. She spent her early years in national parks where her father managed camps for the Civilian Conservation Corps. She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Fine Arts and a teaching certificate from UCLA in 1949. In 1951, she married Rupert Beall Blackmun, with whom she had three children.

She started her career as a public school teacher in Trona, California, in the Mojave Desert, where she taught art, music, and drama.

She started her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in African art history at UCLA in 1978, guided by Arnold Rubin. She collaborated with archaeologist Frank Willett on Nigerian antiquities in 1978–79, and conducted interviews with numerous chiefs and guild members in Benin City in 1981–82, including the late Ine of Igbesanmwan, Chief David Omoregie. She was granted a Fulbright grant to support her research, and also participated in a special UCLA seminar on Benin art, taught by Rubin and Paula Girshick, a Benin specialist.

She completed her thesis in 1984, with title The Iconography of Carved Altar Tusks from Benin, Nigeria, which was notable for its analysis of the over 130 extant ivory tusks that once adorned royal ancestral altars in Benin City. She was among the first scholars to focus on Benin tusks and ivories for examination, and to employ a computer for motif analysis and interpretation. She established an iconographical "dictionary" that has been a resource for subsequent students of Benin art.

She conducted research on other Nigerian art forms, such as Nok terracottas and Ife bronzes. She was granted a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 1986 to study the Nok culture.

She also served as the director of the San Diego Museum of Man (now known as Museum of Us) from 1988 to 1990, where she supervised the renovation of the museum's African gallery and the installation of a new exhibition on the history of human evolution. She was also a founding member and president of the Arts Council for the African Studies Association (ACASA), an organization that promotes the study and appreciation of African art and culture.

She retired from teaching in 2010, but remained active in the field of African art history. She continued to publish articles, give lectures, and attend conferences. She also maintained a website where she shared her research and photographs of African art. She received the ACASA Leadership Award in 2008, in recognition of her contributions to the field.

Personal life and death She died on July 6, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky, at the age of 90. She was survived by her three children, and seven grandchildren.

Selected publications