Radcliffe Bailey

Radcliffe Bailey (November 25, 1968 – November 14, 2023) was an American contemporary visual artist noted for mixed-media, paint, and sculpture works that explore African-American history.

Early life and education Radcliffe Bailey was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey on November 25, 1968. His mother was a school teacher. His interest in art was galvanised by childhood visits to the High Museum of Art and drawing classes he later took at the Atlanta College of Art. He met Jacob Lawrence at an exhibition while in Middle School. as well as historical figures, such as George Washington Carver and Charleston-based blacksmith Philip Simmons.

Career

From 2001 to 2006, he taught at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. In 2006, he did a DNA test and learned that he had heritage from Mende people and Sierra Leone. In 2003, he adopted a style of art conceptually inspired by Kongo minkisi, which he described as being "medicine cabinet sculptures."

In 2020 he discussed the story behind many of his works which deal with migration like Distant Stars II (1998), Tricky, (2006), which shows a ship and a hat, Storm at Sea (2007) with a sea of piano keys as well as in West Coast Slave Trade (2009-18), Door of No Return (2015 w ith a photo of the sea in Cuba, which were shown at Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. His work Caravan (2018) shows a vintage photo of his family a ship and a railroad track in reference to his ancestors and Stars Over the Argonne Forest (2019) a military blanket. Bailey later married Leslie Campbell Parks, daughter of photographer Gordon Parks. Bailey had two children, a son and a daughter.

Solo exhibitions Bailey held solo exhibitions of his work at many galleries and institutions including: Bridget Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Notes (2015) Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Radcliffe Bailey: Recent Works (2015) SCAD Museum of Art Savannah, Georgia, Pensive (2018)

Collections Bailey's work is held in many permanent collections including: The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri The Denver Art Museum, Colorado The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina