McGee, Julie (Julie L. McGee)

PERSONAL:

Education: Bryn Mawr College, M.A., 1943, Ph.D., 1949.

CAREER:

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, visiting assistant professor of art.

WRITINGS:

Cornelis Corneliszoon Van Haarlem (1562-1638): Patrons, Friends, and Dutch Humanists, De Graaf (Nieuwkoop, Netherlands), 1991.

David C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar, Pomegranate (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Julie McGee's David C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar is the first biography of American artist David C. Driskell. Driskell's art expresses his personal conflict over issues of race in the U.S. South. McGee notes his lack of formal art education in his one-room schoolhouse in North Carolina, but covers his blossoming of talent as he entered Howard University. McGee includes nearly 200 color and black-and-white images as well as pictures of Driskell himself to represent the different pieces and periods of his life. A critic for the Reference & Research Book News called the book "comprehensive." A contributor to the Midwest Book Review noted that the book was "rich in biographical background and image alike." Donna Seaman, writing in Booklist, observed that McGee writes about Driskell's life and personal philosophies "with great empathy." Seaman concluded that "this unprecedented volume extends the reach of a great artist and tireless arts advocate."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2007, Donna Seaman, review of David C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar, p. 26.

Midwest Book Review, February 1, 2007, review of David C. Driskell.

Reference & Research Book News, May 1, 2007, review of David C. Driskell.