entertainment
17-12-2024
Lorraine O’Grady, a groundbreaking conceptual artist known for championing Black women’s representation in art, has passed away at 90. The Lorraine O’Grady Trust and her gallery, Mariane Ibrahim, confirmed her death.
Credit: Lorraine O’Grady Trust
Mariane Ibrahim paid tribute, calling O’Grady “a force to be reckoned with” and stating, "“Lorraine paved a path for artists and women artists of colour to forge critical and confident pathways between art and forms of writing.”
Credit: Lorraine O’Grady Trust
O’Grady’s work challenged exclusionary narratives around race, gender, and class. Through performance, photography, and essays, she centered the Black female subject.
Credit: Brigitte Lacombe/Mariane Ibrahim
Born in Boston in 1934 to Jamaican immigrants, O’Grady graduated from Wellesley College in 1955 with degrees in economics and Spanish literature. After careers in government, writing, and teaching, she turned to art in the late 1970s.
Credit: Lorraine O’Grady Trust
Her first major performance, Mlle Bourgeoise Noire (1980–83), critiqued the marginalization of Black artists. Her later works, including her Cutting of the New York Times series and photographic collages, took on power and societal norms.
Credit: Lorraine O’Grady Trust
O’Grady leaves behind her trust, her artistic legacy, and countless artists and thinkers inspired by her uncompromising vision.
Credit: Brigitte Lacombe/Mariane Ibrahim