Another great library has burned down.  Murry N. DePillars...artist, educator, historian, visionary...died May 31, 2008.
 

Art was his passion.  Education was his vocation.  Dr. Murry DePillars devoted his entire life to combining the two to promote enlightenment, to encourage understanding and to engender pride in the African-American experience. 

Born in Chicago, DePillars grew up in a family that recognized and encouraged his interest in visual art, as well as in the performing arts.  The neighborhoods in which he lived were teeming with jazz and blues clubs, as well as with gospel and ethnic music which strongly affected him.  This early childhood development provided the foundation for the man, whose commitment to art and to education changed the lives of those who were privileged to know him.

Murry DePillars was educated in the public schools of Chicago.  He earned an A.A. in Fine Arts from Kennedy-King Community College, a B.A. in Art Education and an M.A. in Urban Studies from Roosevelt University, also in Chicago.  He received his Ph.D. in Art Education from The Pennsylvania State University.  Both his master’s thesis, “Housing, Environment and Children’s Art” and his doctoral dissertation, “African-American Artists and Students: A Morphological Study in the Urban Black Aesthetic” addressed societal issues.

Prior to coming to Richmond, Virginia, in 1971 to serve as Assistant Dean of the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, DePillars worked in several educational settings in Illinois.  He also served in the U. S. Army during the Vietnam War.  One of the leading figures of Chicago’s 1960s African-American Arts Movement,  often referred to as the “Black Arts Movement” and “Chicago’s Black Cultural Renaissance,” he attracted international attention for his artistic output.

In 1976, Dr. DePillars was named Dean of the School of the Arts at VCU, where he served until he retired in 1995, earning the title Professor Emeritus.  Under his leadership, the School of the Arts grew to become one of the largest art schools in the U. S., and attained both national and international recognition.  He was quick to smile when asked about his time at VCU, saying modestly, “With 2800 students, over 130 full-time faculty in 12 departments, an art library, an art gallery, two theaters, two concert halls, and a community music school, it was like being on an art oasis.”

From 1980 through 1987, with strong support from the (Richmond) City Manager’s office and other cooperating local companies and organizations, he produced one of the region’s most successful Jazz Festivals, featuring highly acclaimed artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Carmen McRae and The Modern Jazz Quartet.  He laid a  solid foundation for VCU’s Jazz Program. In April, 1985, he was the subject of Style Weekly’s cover story, and was dubbed “Richmond’s Jazz Man.”

Professional and civic commitments left limited time for Dr. DePillars to pursue his passion.  Therefore, when he was invited to become a member of Afri-Cobra, a group of serious African-American artists like himself, he eagerly accepted.  Afri-Cobra provided a demanding forum, beyond the academic setting, through which the members severely challenged each others’ art as they confronted societal and cultural issues, not only in America, but also in other parts of the world.

Through the years, Dr. DePillars exhibited his artworks in numerous galleries and museums, in both solo and group exhibitions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Studio Museum of Harlem, both in New York; The Mississippi Museum of Art; The Orlando Museum of Art; The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; the World Expo in Spokane; the Fay Gold Gallery in Atlanta; and the Joysmith Gallery & Studio in Memphis.   

During the summer, 2002, he exhibited at the Hampton University Museum.  Entitled “Beyond the Fixed Star:  The Art of Murry DePillars” the exhibit was comprised of 42 works from 1960 through 2002, and included a variety of drawings and paintings.  His works are known for their color and movement.  His powerful paintings, layered with brilliant as well as cool colors, were inspired by African and African-American history, literature, music, quilt-making traditions, and other strong cultural influences.  The Institute for Positive Education in Chicago routinely uses his works as the basis for lessons in its K-12 curriculum.

In December, 2006, his painting, From the Mississippi Delta, 1997, was purchased by the Friends of African and African-American Art and presented to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for its permanent collection.  Other DePillars works can be found in public and private collections around the world.  

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Dr. DePillars was the recipient of numerous awards.  Articles, bibliographic entries, book covers, commissioned illustrations, reviews and photographs of his artworks attest to his significant contributions to art and education.  In 1989, he was named an Alumni Fellow in the College of Art and Architecture at The Pennsylvania State University and in 1996, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The public rewards for his work are evidenced by several grants Dr. DePillars received from the National Endowment for the Arts; his appointment as an Academic Specialist by the USIA with service in Malaysia in 1985; and his travel to Zimbabwe in 1994 through the support of the USIA’s University Affiliate Program.  At the state level, he served three governors on the Virginia Arts and Architectural Review Board.

In 1998, he chose to devote his full attention to his painting, a luxury he had never had the opportunity to fully enjoy.  His passing silenced an important advocate for educational and artistic growth and achievement. His legacy lives through his work and his students.