Barbara Zuber (1926 – 2019) was an American painter and illustrator. She was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman to graduate with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Her work focused on the daily life of African Americans. She contributed the art to '' Brown is a Beautiful Color'' and has exhibited her work at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Gibbes Museum of Art, and the

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is a museum located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, featuring several art collections. The permanent collection includes examples of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculpture, Southern regional art, Ol ...

Early life and education

Barbara Zuber was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on June 20, 1926. Her parents were Marion H. and J. Warwick Johnson. She was raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she attended the

Little Red School House The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive s ...

and graduated from Walden School. She had an interest in visual arts as a child. She attended

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

and was the first African American woman to earn a

from the school. She attended New York University and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

Career

After graduation, she taught art in schools, community centers, and at

Harlem Hospital Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887. The hosp ...

's Child Psychiatry Department. In 1969, she illustrated Jean Carey Bond's '' Brown is a Beautiful Color''. In 1999, Zuber contributed a painting to New York State's ''The Adoption Album: Our Children, Our Families'' and designed the cover art for Augsburg Fortress' ''This Far by Faith: An African American Resource for Worship''. Zuber was recognized by the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

for her contributions to the visual arts and African American art. Her work was published in '' Ebony'' and ''

Jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

''. Her work is held in the collections of Johnson Publishing Company.

Walter Slezak Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood producti ...

was a patron.

Personal life

Zuber was married to civil rights attorney and Rensselaer Polytechinic Institute professor Paul B. Zuber. The couple lived briefly in Croton, New York, followed by

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

, when Paul became the first tenured African American professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Zuber had two children with Paul. She served as President of the Troy

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

and was a board member of the Troy Boys & Girls Club and Black Dimensions in Art. Zuber died on August 27, 2019, at Our Lady of Mercy Life Center in Guilderland, New York. She was interred at Albany Rural Cemetery.

Legacy

A scholarship is offered in her and Paul Zuber's name at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Notable exhibitions

*1970: ''15 Afro-American Women'',

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

, Greensboro, North Carolina *2000: ''SANKOFA: Celebrating 25 Years of Black Dimensions in Art'',

Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is six miles (9 km) northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an air port of entry in the town of Colon ...

, Albany, New York *2003: ''Transformations: An Exhibition to Honor Black History Month.'',

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

, Troy, New York *2007: ''Seasons of Change,''

Capital Repertory Theatre Capital Repertory Theatre (Capital Rep or theREP) is a 309-seat professional regional theatre in Albany, New York. Capital Rep is the only theatre in the Capital District that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). As a member, it ...

, Albany, New York

References

Bibliography

*Bontemps, Arna Alexander, ed. ''Forever free: art by African-American women, 1862-1980''. Hampton: Hampton University and Stephenson Inc.: Alexandria, VA (1980). {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuber, Barbara 1926 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Philadelphia Artists from New York (state) Little Red School House alumni People from Troy, New York Walden School (New York City) alumni Yale School of Art alumni Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery