Barbara Chase-Riboud

Philadelphia-born artist and author Barbara Chase-Riboud was the first woman of color to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Architecture and Design. As an avid traveler, her trips to Egypt and China influenced works such as her well-known Malcolm X Steles. Her written work, including her novelizations of Sally Hemings, went on to become international best sellers.

Chase-Riboud’s sculptural work is centered around the idea of juxtaposing materials. She wanted to challenge the medium, calling for a “freedom from the tyranny of the base” as indicated in Black Dream Column where she replaced bases and pedestals with ropes or textiles combined with industrial steel.

Title: Black Dream Column
Artist: Barbara Chase-Riboud (b. 1939)
Date: 1976
Medium: painted steel
Dimensions: 
Accession Number: H75.03
 

Title: Untitled
Artist: Barbara Chase-Riboud (b. 1939)
Date: 1973
Medium: charcoal, charcoal pencil, and ink with engraving and aquatint on heavy weight, wove, Canson paper
Dimensions: 40 ½ x 29 ¼ inches
Accession Number: H77.59.1
 

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