William McKnight Farrow (1885–1967) was an American artist and curator active in the early twentieth century.[1] Recognized as a printmaker in his own right, he is best known for his promotion and inspiration of fellow African-American artists who became prominent in the mid-twentieth century.[1]

He was born in Dayton, Ohio. In 1908, he moved to Chicago, Illinois to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[2] He later became a curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was instrumental in organizing the Institute's 1927 exhibition The Negro in Art Week, a major early exhibition of African-American art.[1] His own work was on display at Chicago's South Side Community Art Center, where it inspired later artists such as Charles White and Gordon Parks.[2] Farrow also wrote a regular arts column for The Chicago Defender and contributed essays to The Crisis.[2]

In addition to his work as a printmaker and curator, Farrow taught art at Carl Schurz High School. He was fired from his teaching job in 1948 following a profile in the Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American newspaper; the school had hired Farrow believing he was white.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wintz, Cary; Finkelman, Paul, eds. (2004). "Farrow, William McKnight". Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Routledge. pp. 359–360. ISBN 1-57958-389-X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gates, Henry Louis Jr.; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks, eds. (2009). "Farrow, William McKnight". Harlem Renaissance Lives. Oxford University Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 978-0-19-538795-7.
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