Peter
Williams, 69, professor of painting at the University of Delaware and a
prolific artist whose work over a half century explored issues of
African American identity and experience and earned him wide recognition
and numerous awards, passed away Aug. 19, 2021, at his home in
Wilmington, Delaware, after a long illness.
His bold and colorful paintings used caricature and narrative to
confront such dark subjects as slavery, lynching and other acts of
violence against African Americans, war and mass incarceration. In an
interview in 2019, he said that he had “always believed in the idea of
bearing witness to the times in which you live.”
Colleagues at UD, former students and admirers from across the U.S.
reflected on Prof. Williams’ long career and his many contributions as
an artist, educator and mentor. He was praised for his role as a painter
who transcended genres and took a fearless look at difficult subjects
while still maintaining a sense of humor and a wide smile.
“Peter Williams was a larger-than-life individual with a strong voice
and a unique and much-needed perspective,” said Gregory Shelnutt, chair
of UD’s Department of Art and Design. “A hugely talented and visionary
artist, a generous and thoughtful teacher, his loss is deeply felt.”
Prof. Williams has said that his work always reflected themes of
Black identity but that it became even more focused in recent years as
he became aware of the Black Lives Matter movement and delved more
deeply into the history of racial injustice in America. He said that
galleries sometimes urged him to tone down his depictions of racial
cruelty but that he believed most people were moved by the powerful
images.
Some of his recent work depicted the arrest of George Floyd and
others who died at the hands of police, as well as a series he began in
2014 called “The N-Word,” in which an African American superhero uses
the power of the racial epithet to fight hate and oppression.
“I teach his work in my classes at UD every semester because of the
ways it forces viewers to reckon with the history of race, disability
and police brutality in this country, and my students are always so
intrigued by it,” said Tiffany Barber, assistant professor of Africana
studies and art history. “They can't make sense of it, but they want to.
I love how confounding and generative Peter's work is, how he
unflinchingly confronted society's ills on the canvas while also
innovating painting itself. I know his art will continue to impact our
world.”
In announcing Prof. Williams’ death, the Luis De Jesus Gallery in Los
Angeles said that he “was devoted to his craft and lived each day to
paint. He painted until his last hours and was exploring ways of
integrating sculpture and installation into his painting practice.”
Prof. Williams earned honors throughout his career, from his first solo show at age 17 to a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2021. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Academy of Design
and in 2020 received the Artists’ Legacy Foundation’s Artist Award. His
many other honors included the Whitney Biennial in 2002, Djerassi
Resident Artists Program in 2018, Joan Mitchell Award in 2004 and 2007, a
Ford Foundation Fellowship in 1985-87 and the Wynn Newhouse Award in 2012.
In 2020, he had two solo exhibitions, in Detroit and Los Angeles,
featuring his recent “Black Exodus” paintings that explored the idea of
space travel and a post-racial world.
Prof. Williams has had exhibitions throughout the U.S., and his work
is included in such permanent collections as the Detroit Institute of
Arts, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Whitney Museum of American Art,
Delaware Art Museum and Howard University. In 2019, the Smithsonian
American Art Museum acquired his 2018 painting “A Foolish Trick,” making
him only the third Delaware artist listed in the museum’s collection.
