Figure in Repose, 2014
Eldzier Cortor was born in 1916 in Tidewater, Virginia. Cortor studied at Chicago's Englewood High School with fellow students Charles White and Charles Sebree, then pursued advanced training at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he obtained a degree in 1936. He also studied at Columbia University. Back in Chicago, he was employed in the W.P.A. art program and was founding member and teacher at the South Side Community Art Center. Fellowships from the Rosenwald and Guggenheim Foundations enabled Cortor to travel to the Sea Island of Georgia, Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti.
In 1938 Cortor exhibited in the interracial show, "An Exhibition in Defense of Peace and Democracy" sponsored by the Chicago Artists' Group, and in 1940, he participated in "The Exhibition of the Art of the American Negro", also hosted in Chicago. He also contributed to the 1967 CUNY exhibition "The Evolution of Afro-American Artists: 1800 - 1950". In 1976 his painting, "Interior", was included in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition "Two Centuries of Black American Art" curated by David Driskell. The Boston Psychoanalytic Society held a solo exhibition of his work entitled, "Eldzier Cortor: Master Printmaker" in 2002. In 2010 his works were included in an exhibition at the Library of Congress. His work can be found in the collections of Howard University, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and The Art Institute of Chicago.
In 1938 Cortor exhibited in the interracial show, "An Exhibition in Defense of Peace and Democracy" sponsored by the Chicago Artists' Group, and in 1940, he participated in "The Exhibition of the Art of the American Negro", also hosted in Chicago. He also contributed to the 1967 CUNY exhibition "The Evolution of Afro-American Artists: 1800 - 1950". In 1976 his painting, "Interior", was included in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition "Two Centuries of Black American Art" curated by David Driskell. The Boston Psychoanalytic Society held a solo exhibition of his work entitled, "Eldzier Cortor: Master Printmaker" in 2002. In 2010 his works were included in an exhibition at the Library of Congress. His work can be found in the collections of Howard University, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and The Art Institute of Chicago.