Conversations with Artists: David C. Driskell and Frank Stewart

February 2012 - David C. Driskell, artist, collector, and emeritus professor of art history, University of Maryland at College Park; in conversation with Ruth Fine, consulting curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art. Following The Art of Romare Bearden, on view at the National Gallery of Art from September 14, 2003, through January 4, 2004, exhibition curator Ruth Fine joined lenders David C. Driskell and Frank Stewart to discuss another collaboration—their visual biography of the artist. Bearden (1911–1988) worked closely with Stewart from 1975 until his death and allowed Stewart to photograph him in his studio, at art-related events, and during his personal time. The resulting book, Romare Bearden, contains introductory texts by Driskell and Fine as well as an interview Fine conducted with Stewart that serves as running commentary alongside the book's images. In this Conversations with Artists program recorded on December 11, 2004, the collaborators discuss their relationship with Bearden, the Gallery's Bearden exhibition, and the newly published visual biography.