?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000
VARNETTE P. HONEYWOOD (1950 - 2010) Our Children--A Vibrant Force.
Group of four canvas assemblages, (mother, father, daughter, son), each acrylic on cotton canvas, 1979. Each approximately 914x406 mm; 36x16 inches. Each with the artist's typed label, verso. Signed in acrylic (on the son), lower right.
Provenance: acquired from The Gallery, Contemporary Crafts, Los Angeles, circa 1980; private Atlanta collection. The Gallery was opened by Berney Casey and Samella Lewis in 1970.
Well-known as both an artist and illustrator, Varnette P. Honeywood is highly regarded for her use of color, pattern and texture in a variety of media. Born in Los Angeles, Honeywood earned her Bachelor's degree in art from Spelman College in 1972, and her Master's of Science degree in education, and teaching credentials from the University of Southern California in 1974. Honeywood is famous for her upbeat depictions of black family life. In 1975, Honeywood and her sister founded a successful business, Black Lifestyles Fine Art, to publish and distribute Honeywood's note cards, posters and prints of her artwork. A reproduction of her 1974 painting, Birthday, was made famous on the set of The Cosby Show. Later, her paintings and other artwork formed the backdrop for Cosby's Kids Say the Darndest Things. Honeywood's work subsequently appeared on other television series, including Amen, Golden Girls, A Different World, and 227, and in the movies Bustin' Loose and Beauty Shop. During the 1990s, Honeywood illustrated a series of 12 books by Bill Cosby, the Little Bill Books for Beginning Readers. Little Bill was made into an animated television series based on Honeywood's illustrations. In 1996, Honeywood created a collage for the dedication of the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center at Spelman College.
