Benny Andrews (1930-2006) was born in Plainview, Ga., and he grew up in Madison, Ga. His paintings and drawings capture glimpses of Black tradition and culture, speaking directly to his experiences in Madison, a rural area from which he had to travel for resources like schooling.
Andrews notes in a 1975 interview with the literary magazine Ataraxia 4 that while in high school, he also had to fulfill duties as the son of sharecroppers. He often missed out on school in the spring and fall because he had to plant and pick cotton.
Andrews went on to attend Fort Valley State College (now university) and the Art Institute of Chicago, which is known for producing renowned Black artists, including Wadsworth and Jae Jarrell, Charles White, John Green, and Sanford Biggers.
In the 1975 interview, Andrews said, “The thing is that my existence has always been schizophrenic: coming out of rural Georgia and going into the art world is considered to be a very sophisticated thing, like the art world. And the problem is to hold on to your identity, but not to deny what you can learn in this profession.”