71

Charles White

(1919-1979)

Untitled (Man Sitting).

Charcoal and conté crayon on cream wove paper, circa 1970.
Estate ink stamp signature, lower right.
43 x 55 in. (109.2 x 139.7 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    The artist.
    Constance Leach.
    Private collection, Portland, Oregon.
    Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles.
    Private collection, Tennessee.
  • Notes:
    This large figure study exemplifies Charles White's approach to drawing from the model during the mid-1960s and 70s. Such a live drawing could have been a study for a painting or even a class demonstration. Charles White became the first African American faculty member when he joined the Otis Art Institute (now the Otis College of Art and Design) in 1965. White was the head of the Drawing Department when he passed in 1979.

    The 2019 LACMA exhibition Life Model: Charles White and His Students in the original Otis Art Institute campus (now the Charles White Elementary School and a LACMA satellite) featured artworks by his students alongside his own sketchbooks, photographs, and archival footage to illustrate his pedagogy. Kerry James Marshall in an interview for the exhibition recalled: "Life drawing was a specialty at Otis and Charles White was the effective dean of figure drawing. His classes were the most popular, and always full to capacity. Like me, all of the Black students who matriculated through Otis were primarily because of White." Other notable students of White's were Gloria Bohanon, David Hammons, Suzanne Jackson, Timothy Washington and Richard Wyatt, Jr.
  • Condition:
    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

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October 7, 2025 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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