Charles McGee (painter)


Charles McGee is an American artist and educator known for creating paintings, assemblages, and sculptures. His artwork is in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. McGee has several large scale public works in the city of Detroit.

Early life and education

Charles McGee was born December 15, 1924 into a family of sharecroppers. While helping his grandfather tend the land, "he observed firsthand the order and harmony that exists within nature." He had no formal schooling until moving to Detroit at age 10, where he found that "everything was on the move and it hasn’t slowed down yet." in 2017 he observed, "I learned something not being in school — because life is school...I learn something every time I move. Every time I go around a corner, something new is revealed to me.”
As a boy, McGee attended George Washington Elementary and took art classes at the . He attended Cleveland High School near Hamtramck and was active as a creative designer and coordinator of float construction for the school's parades. After high school, McGee went to work for Briggs Manufacturing Company in Detroit.

Military Service

In 1943, McGee enlisted in the Marine Corps and served for three years, including during World War II. McGee took advantage of the GI Bill to attend classes at the College for Creative Studies, then known as the Society of Arts and Crafts.

Career

McGee regularly taught art at Eastern Michigan University and also at both the University of Michigan and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center.
McGee's paintings, assemblages and sculptures are held in U.S. and international collections, and are on permanent display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Dennos Museum, and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
McGee's work is installed in public settings, including the William Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak, Michigan and the Detroit People Mover Broadway Station.
He co-founded the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit in 1978.

Detroit as a creative setting

According to the Kresge Foundation, "McGee developed an unwavering loyalty to the city and its residents, and endowed it with much of his artistic energy and artwork. 'Detroit really has been a heaven for me,' McGee explains. 'It has given me dignity and treated me with respect.'”

Awards

In 2008, McGee was named the first . Administered by the College for Creative Studies, this award honors one Detroit artist each year for professional achievements, cultural contributions, and commitment to the local arts community.
In early 2019, announced that McGee would receive its 2019 Legacy Award "in recognition of a lifetime of achievements and influences as an artist, teacher, advocate and global citizen."
The College for Creative Studies awarded McGee an honorary doctorate for his work as an artist and educator.