Barbara Zuber

Barbara Johnson Zuber
Born
Barbara Johnson

(1926-06-20)June 20, 1926
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
DiedNovember 19, 2019(2019-11-19) (aged 93)
Guilderland, New York, US
EducationArt Students League of New York
New York University
Alma materYale University
SpousePaul B. Zuber
Patron(s)Walter Slezak

Barbara Zuber (1926 – 2019) was an American painter and illustrator. She was the first African American woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale University. Her work focused on the daily life of African Americans. She contributed the art to Brown is a Beautiful Color and has exhibited her work at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Gibbes Museum of Art, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.[1]

Early life and education

Barbara Zuber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 20, 1926.[2] Her parents were Marion H. and J. Warwick Johnson. She was raised in New York City, where she attended the Little Red School House and graduated from Walden School.[3] She had an interest in visual arts as a child. She attended Yale School of Art and was the first African American woman to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the school.[4] She attended New York University and the Art Students League of New York.[3][5]

Career

After graduation, she taught art in schools, community centers, and at Harlem Hospital's Child Psychiatry Department.[5] In 1969, she illustrated Jean Carey Bond's Brown is a Beautiful Color.[6]

In 1999, Zuber contributed a painting to New York State's The Adoption Album: Our Children, Our Families and designed the cover art for Augsburg Fortress' This Far by Faith: An African American Resource for Worship.[5][6] Zuber was recognized by the New York State Senate for her contributions to the visual arts and African American art.[1]

Her work was published in Ebony and Jet. Her work is held in the collections of Johnson Publishing Company. Walter Slezak was a patron.[3]

Personal life

Zuber was married to civil rights attorney and Rensselaer Polytechinic Institute professor Paul B. Zuber.[3] The couple lived briefly in Croton, New York, followed by Troy, New York, when Paul became the first tenured African American professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[3] Zuber had two children with Paul.[1] She served as President of the Troy YWCA and was a board member of the Troy Boys & Girls Club and Black Dimensions in Art. Zuber died on August 27, 2019,[2] at Our Lady of Mercy Life Center in Guilderland, New York. She was interred at Albany Rural Cemetery.[3]

Legacy

A scholarship is offered in her and Paul Zuber's name at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[3]

Notable exhibitions

References

  1. ^ a b c "J1241". NY State Senate. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Obituary for Barbara J. (Johnson) Zuber | Bryce Funeral Home". Bryce Funeral Home. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Barbara J. Zuber". Legacy.com. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Barbara Johnson Zuber". AskArt. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Adoption Album - Barbara Zuber - NYS Office of Children and Family Services". New York State Office of Children & Family Services. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Zuber, Barbara Johnson". African American Visual Arts Database. Retrieved 19 November 2019.

Bibliography

  • Bontemps, Arna Alexander, ed. Forever free: art by African-American women, 1862-1980. Hampton: Hampton University and Stephenson Inc.: Alexandria, VA (1980).