Carl Owens
Carl
Owens was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1929. His professional experience in the
field of Art began as an illustrator in the U.S. Army. Following this, he taught
art in the Detroit Public Schools and later served as staff artist for the
school system. He is a member of the National Conference of Artists and worked,
as a self-employed artist since 1968.
Mr.Owens'
career includes commissions and personal work in a variety of styles and media.
His forte is portraiture and a sampling includes: Rosa Parks, Jesse Jackson,
Henry Ford II and Diana Ross. Included among Owens' many works are his paintings
of King Affonso I, and King Khama in the "Great Kings of Africa"
series for Anheuser Busch, Inc.; twenty-five "Soul of a Nation"
drawings for the McDonald's Corporation; two displays - "Roots, Stems and
Flowers" and "Ford Salutes the Black Composer" - which were
exhibited nationally by the Ford Motor Company; the portrait series,
"Ingenious Americans" for the national Distillers, Inc.; two
filmstrips - "The Life of Frederick Douglass" and "The Negroes
Quest for Education" - for the Pepsi Cola Company and many other
works that were commissioned by major corporations.
In
addition to numerous private collections, his fine art has been on exhibition
at: The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Minneapolis Institute of
Arts; The Art Institute of Chicago; the M.H. DeYoung Museum, San Francisco; the
Detroit Institute of Arts; the Cincinnati Art Museum; the Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, DC, the North American Black Historical Museum, Ontario, Canada; the
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, Michigan; and the
Detroit Historical Museum.
A
partial list of honors awarded Carl Owens include: the New York Society of
Illustrators Citation for Merit; Outstanding Artist Award, Michigan Chapter,
National Conference of Artists; both a Testimonial Resolution and a Spirit of
Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council; the Mayor's Award of Merit; the
American Black Artists Pioneer Award; the Optimists International Certificate of
Appreciation for Community Service; the American Black Artists Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Arts; The National Conference of Artists First
Afrikan World Festival Award, Visual Arts; and a Testimonial Resolution from
James J. Blanchard, former Governor of the State of Michigan.
Carl
Owens passed away in 2002 at the
age of 73 but his art will live
with us forever.