Herbert Gentry

A Celebration of the Life and Art of Herbert Gentry
February 3, 2004

Herbert Gentry, world-renowned African-American artist passed away Monday, September 8, 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden after a long illness.  Mr. Gentry, born in Pittsburgh, PA was 84 years of age and is survived by his wife, Mary Anne Rose who lives in New York City and children living in Stockholm.  Parish Gallery at 1054 31^st Street, NW, Washington, DC was recently honored to exhibit of his work.

Gentry’s subject matter is inherently social, and nearly always peopled.  He was deeply influenced by jazz, which emerges as a powerful presence in the rhythms of his paintings.  His figures are outlined by color – breathing and gregarious, often an inherent sweetness emerges with the childlike openness.

 Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Mr. Gentry was raised in Harlem during its heyday, the highly creative period before World War II.  He served as a member of the Armed Forces during that period and his commitment to art was defined by his return to Paris in 1946 where he studied painting.  Releasing his experiences upon the canvas his autobiographical elements are propelled through feeling in spontaneous painting.   “I paint what I experience, who I am, in the Black world, especially in America, there’s a thing that you can’t forget where you came from, you paint from your experiences, who you are”

 Gentry’s paintings are included in numerous museum collections from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts and in collections in Finland, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, and many other countries.