Vivian Ann Davidson Hewitt (February 17, 1920 – May 29, 2022) was an American art collector, specializing in African-American art, and a librarian. She was

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

’s first African American librarian, and later became the first African American president of the

Special Libraries Association The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions. History The S ...

. Her art collection, which she and her husband, John Hewitt, amassed over fifty years, is considered one of the finest collections of artwork by African-American artists and is on exhibit at the

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Harvey (play), ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most imp ...

in Charlotte, N.C. In 2016, she was awarded the honorary title of Dame by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

of Great Britain.

Biography

Early life

Vivian Davidson was born in

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is northwest of Pittsburgh, and near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, just southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, ...

, on February 17, 1920. She was the fourth, out of five, children to Arthur Davidson, a waiter and butler, and his wife Lela, a teacher. Her parents were born in North Carolina; they moved to New Castle when Arthur was offered the position of butler to a Pennsylvania senator. Vivian Davidson attended the North Street School, George Washington Junior High and New Castle Senior High.

Professional career

Davidson received her bachelor's degree from

Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional undergra ...

, in

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 census. Located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, the city lies along the Beaver River, six miles (9 km) north of its co ...

, in 1943. The following year, in 1944, she received a master's in library science from

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carn ...

. Hewitt was hired as the senior assistant librarian by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh following her graduation. She is believed to be the first African-American librarian in Pittsburgh. In 1949, she moved to Atlanta, accepting a position as an instructor-librarian at Atlanta University (now

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

). She met her husband, John H. Hewitt a professor at

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, in 1949 and they were married the same year. Their only child, John Hamilton Hewitt III was then born in 1952. In 1953 Hewitt moved to New York City and worked for the Crowell-Collier Publishing Co., then moved to be the librarian at the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

. Hewitt then became the librarian for the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...

, in 1963 until her retirement in 1983. She also served as the first black president of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) from 1978 to 1979.

John and Vivian Hewitt Art Collection

Vivian and John Hewitt began collecting artwork when they traveled, focusing particularly on Haitian art. They also personally knew and collected artwork from New York-based African-American artists. Over fifty years, they purchased hundreds of sketches, paintings, and etchings. Fifty-eight pieces from this collection were purchased by Bank of America and donated to the Afro-American Cultural Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center was renamed the

Harvey B. Gantt Center The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, formerly known as the Afro-American Cultural Center, is in Charlotte, North Carolina and named for Harvey Gantt, the city's first African-American mayor and the first African-American ...

for African-American Arts + Culture in 2009. The John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art includes work by

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York City a ...

Margaret Burroughs Margaret Taylor-Burroughs (November 1, 1915 – November 21, 2010), also known as Margaret Taylor Goss, Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs or Margaret T G Burroughs, was an American visual artist, writer, poet, educator, and arts organizer. She co-fo ...

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African American sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in th ...

, Jonathan Green,

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", although by his own ...

Ann Tanksley Ann Graves Tanksley (born 1934) is an American artist. Her mediums are representational oils, watercolor and printmaking. One of her most noteworthy bodies of work is a collection based on the writings of African-American novelist and anthropologis ...

, and

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in Fren ...

. The Hewitts also donated about 60 pieces of art to Geneva College, her alma mater. These pieces are in a collection named the Vivian Davidson Hewitt Collection, on permanent display in the East Reading Room of the Macartney Library.

Personal life

Hewitt died at her home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on May 29, 2022, at the age of 102.

Awards

In 1984, Vivian Hewitt was inducted into the Special Libraries Association's Hall of Fame. In 2001, she was honored by

with appointment to the

Venerable Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

as a Serving Sister. She was promoted to Officer Sister in 2004, Commander Sister in 2009, and finally Dame in 2016.

External links

The Vivian D. and John H. Hewitt Collection, Special Collections and Archives, African American Research Library and Cultural Center, Broward County Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Vivian 1920 births 2022 deaths American art collectors American librarians American women librarians African-American librarians People from New Castle, Pennsylvania Geneva College alumni Clark Atlanta University faculty Rockefeller Foundation people Carnegie Endowment for International Peace African-American centenarians American centenarians Women centenarians