Harold Jackman

Harold Jackman (August 18, 1901 – July 8, 1961) was a British-born teacher, model, and patron of the arts with emphasis on African American art and literature. Raised in Harlem, Jackman was known for his involvement in the Harlem Renaissance and his dedication to preserving African American cultural artifacts. He founded the Countee Cullen Memorial Collection at Atlanta University and contributed to the James Weldon Johnson Collection of Yale University, the Literary Collection of Fisk University, and to the Schomburg Collection at the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library. Along with Regina M. Anderson and Dorothy Randolph Peterson, he was also a co-founder of the Harlem Experimental Theater.

Biography Jackman was born in London on August 18, 1901. Jackman earned his bachelor's degree from New York University in 1923 and his master's degree from Columbia University in 1927.

For over three decades Jackman worked as a model, most notably for Ophelia DeVore's The Grace Del Marco Agency. He was featured in Winold Reiss' drawing A College Lad (1925).

Jackman was a collector of African American memorabilia and black cultural artifacts. His diaries and collections of have been used as a resource for writers and historians. His collections are held in depositories across the country, including the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans and Atlanta University in Georgia. Cullen dedicated his famous poem "Heritage" to Jackman. After Jackman died the collection was changed to the Cullen-Jackman Collection.

Jackman died in a Maine hospital on July 8, 1961. He was survived by a brother, Bertram Jackman, and sister, Ivie Jackman.

Legacy Jackman's sister Ivie Jackman instituted the Harold Jackman Memorial Committee and she was chairman.

The Cullen-Jackman Memorial Collection at Atlanta University "documents the artistic and creative nature of those of African descent."

The Harold Jackman Memorial Award was established in his honor. Recipients include Diahann Carroll (1973) and Geoffrey Holder (1982).