Regenia A. Perry

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Regenia A. Perry
Born (1941-03-30) March 30, 1941 (age 83)
Granville County, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater
Known forEducator, art historian, curator, folklorist

Regenia A. Perry is one of the first African American women to earn a Ph.D. in art history. [1] In 1975, Perry served as the first African American guest curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. [2] She has written extensively about African American artists and folk artists.

Contents

Early life and education

Perry was born in Granville County, North Carolina to Jessie L. Perry and Marie M. Peace. Her father was a tobacco farmer. [3] She was the second child, after an older brother. [4]

Perry attended Virginia State College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts Education in 1961. The following year, she earned her master's degree in the history of art at Western Reserve University. Perry later completed courses towards a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her Ph.D. in the history of art in 1966 at Western Reserve University. [1]

Perry credits Mrs. Lola H. Solice (1910–1993), superintendent of Granville County, North Carolina Negro Schools during the 1950s, [5] as one who influenced her the most. [1]

One of Perry's nieces is Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten, the ninth president of Simmons University and the first African American to hold the position. [1] [6]

Career

Perry taught art history at number of universities. In the 1960s, she taught at Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Howard University and Indiana State University. [2] In 1967, Perry and Rizpah L. Welch, Ed.D. were the first two full-time African American faculty members employed by Richmond Professional Institute, [7] later name Virginia Commonwealth University.

For twenty-five years she was a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. [1] She retired in 1990. [8] In 2000, Perry established the Regenia A. Perry Merit Scholarship at the university. [3]

In 1975, Perry was named guest curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 1975–76. She was the first African American serving in this capacity at the museum. [2] Perry would be responsible for selecting works for the museum's exhibit on 19th century African American art as well as negotiating possible acquisitions for the museum's permanent collection. [2] The exhibit Selections of Nineteenth-Century Afro-American Art included 92 pieces by various artists including Joshua Johnson, Jules Lion, Henry O. Tanner, and Harriet Powers. [9]

Perry amassed a collection of 3,000 African American folk artifacts, including 300 Black Santas, angles and other ethnic holiday items. [10] Perry's extensive Black doll collection has been loaned for exhibition. In 2003, Perry curated Sugar and Spice: Black Dolls from the Dr. Regenia Perry Collection and the Black Doll Museum, Philadelphia at the African American Museum in Dallas, Texas. [11]

Perry founded Raven Arts, an art consulting firm in New Orleans focused on African American folk artists. [12]

Honors and legacy

Curated exhibits

Perry curated or co-curated the following selected exhibits:

Books and catalogs

Book and catalogs with contributions by Perry

Collections

The Regenia Perry papers, circa 1920–2017, are housed at Emory University, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library in Atlanta, Georgia. [12] The 35-box collection includes art and artists files, photographs, slides and printed materials in the area of African American art history. Also included are works by Phillip Lindsay Mason, Willie Stokes, and James Van Der Zee. Binders from art collector Francois Mignon from the Melrose Plantation are also included. [12]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Personality: Dr. Regenia A. Perry". richmondfreepress.com. March 31, 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Virginia Native Named Museum Guest Curator". NewspaperArchive.com. Danville Bee City and State News (VA). 1 May 1975. p. 9. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Art history expert plans to leave lasting legacy". support.vcu.edu. VCU Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "North Carolina, U.S., Birth Indexes, 1800–2000 Granville 1941–1967 NCVR_B_C044_66002". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Mrs. Lola H. Solice named Sup Elem Ed". Durham, N.C.: The Carolina times. 4 September 1965. p. 4A. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "President Lynn Perry Wooten | Simmons University". www.simmons.edu. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Two Negroes Join Staff at RPI". Harrisonburg Daily News Record Archives. 20 June 1967. p. 15. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Scott, Tyler (1 Jan 1980). "Regenia Perry has spent a lifetime collecting the work of African-American artists". Style Weekly. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Loercher, Diana (24 July 1976). "Exhibits salutes black artists in America". NewspaperArchive.com. Madison Wisconsin State Journal. p. 11. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Whyde Jesse, Kathy (7 Dec 1996). "A Special Time of Year: Art historian Regenia Perry collected hundreds of black Santas". Dayton Daily News (Ohio). p. 1.
  11. ↑ Thomson, Karen M. (1 Jan 2004). "Dolls carry girls' dreams and self-esteem". Newspapers.com. The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC). p. 51. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 Perry, Regenia (25 January 2019). "Regenia Perry papers, circa 1920–2017". findingaids.library.emory.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Alexis Assam named VMFA's Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art". artdaily.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "Alexis Assam Named VMFA's Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art New Position Will Support Activities of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art". Sugarcane Magazine ™| Black Art Magazine. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "African folk-art display". Newspapers.com. The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina). 5 Jan 1997. p. 49. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  16. ↑ Mignon, Francois (2 Mar 1980). "Francois Mignon's Plantation Memo". Newspapers.com. The Times (Shereveport, LA). p. 45. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "What it is : Black American folk art from the collection of Regenia Perry". library.nga.gov. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
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