Verna Hart (January 28, 1961 – April 26, 2019) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

artist known for her

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painting focused on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music. She was born and raised in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

neighborhood of the

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 ...

Early life

Hart was born in Harlem to Earl Alphonso Hart, a detective sergeant in the New York City Police, and Pauline (Shomo) Hart. They moved to

Middle Village, Queens Middle Village is a mainly residential neighborhood in the central section of the borough of Queens, New York City, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue and the forme ...

when she was four. While studying at Andrew Jackson High School in

Cambria Heights, Queens Cambria Heights is a residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Queen ...

, she took painting classes at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

. She continued her education at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

with a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting, a master's of fine arts in painting from

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

and a master's in education supervision and administration from the

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full ...

, both in 1991.

Career

Hart was an art teacher at

Springfield Gardens High School Springfield Gardens High School was a public 4–year high school located in the Springfield Gardens section in the New York City borough of Queens. The school was opened in 1965. Closed in 2007, The Springfield Gardens High School building is now ...

in Queens and at

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educator ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

in Brooklyn. Hart's work has been featured at United States embassies in Africa and other

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

offices. In 1999
Jammin' Under the El
' was commissioned by the New York City

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

(MTA). The installation is a prominent feature at the

Myrtle Avenue station (BMT Jamaica Line) The Myrtle Avenue station (announced on New Technology Trains as Myrtle Avenue–Broadway station) is a New York City Subway express station on the BMT Jamaica Line. Located at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway in Bedford–Stuyves ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. It consists of

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows on the platforms' sign structures as well as the station house depicting various scenes related to music. Hart's work was shown throughout the 1980's and 1990's at

James Powers (gallerist) James Powers may refer to: * J. F. Powers (James Farl Powers, 1917–1999), American novelist and short-story writer * James Legrand Powers (1871–1927), founder of Powers Accounting Machine Company * James Powers (New York politician) (1785–1 ...

gallery Spiral, a space in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn that focused on the work of Black artists. Hart was also exhibited at Dorsey's Fine Art Gallery.

Death

Hart moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

almost 20 years before her death so she could get medical treatment for one of her children. She died at her home there. According to her son ago Romare, she had a seizure while she slept.

Exhibitions

''Seeing Jazz: A Tribute to the Masters and Pittsburgh Jazz Legends'', Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Pittsburgh PA (January 26-April 3, 2009): Group exhibition. Included: O'Neal Abel, Benny Andrews,

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 ...

, Sharif Bey,

Betty Blayton Taylor Betty Blayton (July 10, 1937 – October 2, 2016) was an American activist, advocate, artist, arts administrator and educator, and lecturer. As an artist, Blayton was an illustrator, painter, printmaker, and sculptor. She is best known for her wo ...

, Tina Williams Brewer, Fred Brown,

Bisa Butler Bisa Butler (born Mailissa Yamba Butler in 1973) is an American fiber artist who has created a new genre of quilting that has transformed the medium. Although quilting has long been considered a craft, her interdisciplinary methods -- which crea ...

, Lauren Camp, Nora Mae Carmichael, Sadikisha Collier, Robert Daniels, Tafa Fiadzigbe, Frank Frazier, Eric Girault, Verna Hart, Rene Hinds, Jamillah Jennings, MLJ Johnson, Larry Joseph, Charlotte Ka, Eli Kince, Dindga McCannon, Evangeline J. Montgomery, Richard Mayhew, Steve Mayo, Omowale Morgan, Otto Neals, Ademola Olugebefola, Eric Pryor, Faith Ringgold, Senghor Reid, Maurice D. Robertson, Ernani Silva, Danny Simmons, Alexandria Smith, George Smith, Chuck Stewart, Allen Stringfellow,

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 ...

, Habib Tiwoni, Osman Tyner, Manny Vega, Richard Waters, Douglas J. Webster, Emmett Wigglesworth, and Shirley Woodson.

Popular culture

Hart's artwork has appeared in films, television shows, and on record covers, including

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's 1990 film ''

Mo' Better Blues ''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (played ...

'', and

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

' 1992 album '' I Heard You Twice the First Time''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Verna 1961 births 2019 deaths People from Harlem Schoolteachers from New York (state) American women educators People from Middle Village, Queens Medgar Evers College faculty Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni School of Visual Arts alumni Pratt Institute alumni Bank Street College of Education alumni African-American women artists 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women