Metamorphosis II

Lithograph, 1992, edition 50. 30 x 21 1/2 in. Signed, dated, titled and numbered in pencil. The print bears the blindstamp of the Lynton Kistler workshop, the pioneering California lithograper who printed for many of the finest artists working during the mid 20th century. (Kistler, himself, was active from the 1920s to about 1976.) Biggers studied at the Hampton Institute with Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White. He also got to know Hale Woodruff around this time. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he studied at Penn State and with a masters and PhD in hand, he moved to Houston where he served as founder and chairman of Texas State (now Texas Southern) University's art department. He was there until 1983. Biggers was one of the first African American artists to visit Africa and he did so with a UNESCO fellowship to study West African cultural traditions. His worked was heavily influenced by his visits to Africa as he returned several times. In addition to his prints and drawings, Biggers was a gifted painter and his murals are found primarily in the Houston area. In fact, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts hosted a major retrospective of the artist's work in 1995 which traveled to several cities. This large, dynamic lithograph is beautifully drawn and is a compelling and symbolic statement.