Cooper Hewitt says...
William McBride was an African American artist and cultural and political activist who became a prominent figure in the Chicago arts community. Born in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, McBride’s family moved to the Bronzeville neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side in the 1920s. As a boy, he expressed an early interest in art and design, particularly for automobiles, and created many conceptual car designs in vivid watercolors. The strength of McBride’s design drawings attracted artist George Neal to his work in the 1930s, who quickly involved him in the Art Crafts Guild, a small collective of young African American artists. With the creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935, McBride found steady work as an artist creating murals, posters, and graphic work for the organization. In 1940, McBride helped to establish the South Side Community Art Center, a vital center that offered studio space for young artists and fostered progressive black cultural politics. As his career continued, McBride established his own graphic design studio and produced diverse works, ranging from commercial visuals to fine art prints. Influenced by African-American history and folk art, McBride often incorporated its motifs and colors into his own work.
