Charles White

Charles White is born in Chicago.

Throughout grade school and high school, Charles White wins scholarships to attend Saturday classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Charles White joins the Arts and Crafts Guild in Chicago at age fourteen and begins participating in their exhibitions.

Charles White wins a scholarship to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

Charles White graduates from SAIC.

Charles White is an active participant in the South Side Community Art Center in Chicago, where he teaches classes and serves as chairman of the Artists’ Committee.

Charles White paints murals in Chicago and New York as part of the Works Progress Administration.

Charles White marries his first wife, fellow artist Elizabeth Catlett.

Due to a relapse of tuberculosis, Charles White relocates from New York to Los Angeles in search of a better climate.

Charles White begins teaching at Otis Art Institute.

Because of Charles White’s frail condition, John Outterbridge drives him around Los Angeles.

Emory Douglas studies commercial art at San Francisco City College. There he is inspired by the works of Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, and Charles White, and becomes involved in the Black Arts Movement.

Suzanne Jackson serves as a model for Charles White’s classes at Otis Art Institute.

David Hammons takes night classes at Otis Art Institute. Hammons’s drawing teacher, Charles White, makes a profound impact on him as the first successful black man whom Hammons has encountered.

Suzanne Jackson takes a drawing class with Charles White at Otis, where she also meets David Hammons.

Charles White is awarded a Tamarind Fellowship.

David Hammons, Timothy Washington, and Charles White participate in the exhibition Three Graphic Artists at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Judithe Hernández earns her BFA at Otis, where she studies under Charles White.

David Hammons, Judithe Hernández, and Suzanne Jackson are included in the group exhibition Life Model: Charles White and His Students at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.