Dr.

Virginia Jackson Kiah
Born
Virginia West Jackson

June 3, 1911
East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 28, 2001(2001-12-28) (aged 90)
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Resting placeHillcrest Abbey, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University
OccupationArtist
Parent

Virginia Jackson Kiah (June 3, 1911 – December 28, 2001) was an African-American educator and artist who spent a large part of her life in Savannah, Georgia, where Kiah Hall is now named for her.

She was the daughter of civil-rights activist Lillie May Carroll Jackson.[1]

Early life and career

Virginia West Jackson was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Keiffer Albert Jackson and Lillie May Carroll Jackson.[2]

Kiah graduated from the Pennsylvania Museum School of Art with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1931. She followed this up with a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1950.[3]

In 1951,[3] Kiah and her husband of nineteen years, Calvin Lycurgus Kiah, moved to Savannah, Georgia.[4] Calvin was a professor at Georgia State University and Savannah State College during his career.[4] In 1959, they opened the first floor of their home at 505 West 36th Street, in the Cuyler-Brownsville neighborhood, as the Kiah Museum,[4] a teaching facility.[1][5][6] The home was built in 1915.[7]

Personal life

Kiah Hall, Savannah, Georgia

In 1992, Savannah College of Art and Design acquired the deteriorating former Central of Georgia Railroad headquarters building and began renovations. A year later, the building was dedicated to Kiah, a member of SCAD's board of trustees between 1987 and 1997.[8]

Kiah received an honorary doctorate from SCAD in 1986.[9]

In failing health, she moved into a nursing home in 1990.[7]

In 1993, she donated much of her art to the university, which held an exhibition of her work in 2009.[1]

Death

Kiah died in a Savannah nursing home in 2001, aged 90,[1] having survived her husband by seven years. She was interred beside him at Hillcrest Abbey on Wheaton Street in Savannah on December 30.[2]

In 2022, Historic Savannah Foundation purchased her former home for $60,000, saving it from demolition due to its ruinous state, having lay vacant for 32 years. They will sell it to a party interested only in restoring the house, a project estimated to cost around $500,000.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Accusations among friends, family fly while Savannah artist, icon Virginia Kiah's house crumbles" – Savannah Morning News, December 1, 2017
  2. 1 2 Hungry for History? Finding Virginia Jackson Kiah - A Notable Savannah Woman, retrieved 7 April 2023
  3. 1 2 Youngblut, Nicole. "Virginia Jackson Kiah". Connect Savannah. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Kiah, Virginia (1911–2001) – The Johnson Collection
  5. ↑ "Kiah house continues to crumble" – Savannah Agenda
  6. ↑ Wiehe, Noelle. "Funds sought for Savannah's Kiah House Museum building restoration and preservation". Connect Savannah. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "First City Progress: Historic Savannah looking for preservation-minded Kiah House buyer". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "Accusations among friends, family fly while Savannah artist, icon Virginia Kiah's house crumbles" – Savannah Morning News, December 1, 2017
  9. ↑ Bauman, Sam (15 March 2022). "Women's History Month: Virginia Jackson Kiah". WTOC. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
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