Video by Pam Stevenson, Agave Productions Inc., for Historical League
Eugene Grigsby was born Jefferson Eugene Grigsby, Jr. on October 17, 1918, in Greensboro, N.C. Dr. Grigsby earned a B.A. from Morehouse College in Atlanta, an M.A. from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D from New
York University. He also studied at the American Artists School in New York City, at Columbia University, and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Marseilles, France.
After serving in the military during World War II, Eugene Grigsby married Thomasena Marshall and moved to Phoenix, where he taught at Carver High School before becoming head of the Art Department at Phoenix
Union High School. In the mid-1960s, he joined the faculty of Arizona State University as a professor in the School of Art.
Dr. Grigsby has had an extensive art career encompassing painting, printmaking, teaching, consulting, and lecturing. Known for his acrylic paintings, serigraph and lithograph prints, his work has been exhibited in many galleries and museums. Dr. Grigsby was also active in theatre, where he was involved in acting, writing, producing, and set design.
Dr. Grigsby has been widely recognized for his efforts to increase awareness of African and African American artists. His 1977 book, Art & Ethnics, reflects his interest in cultural pluralism and artists of different ethnic backgrounds. Some of Dr. Grigsby’s greatest satisfactions has been derived from working with the Arizona Opportunities Industrialization Center and with the Consortium of Black Organizations and Others for the Arts (COBA), including COBA's annual Inner-City/Multicultural Invitational Youth Art Exhibit, and its Youth Art Scholarships. He also founded Artists of the Black Community in Arizona.
In recognition of his wide-ranging accomplishments, Eugene Grigsby is listed in multiple Who’s Who. Among many other honors and awards, Dr. Grigsby was presented with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1965, with the National Gallery’s 25th Anniversary Medallion, and with ASU’s Distinguished Research Award. In 1988, he received the National Art Educator Award from the National Art Education Association, and in 1989, Governor Rose Mofford presented him with the Governor's Arts Award, recognizing him as "a living individual who has made a significant contribution to the support of the arts in Arizona."
Historymaker J. Eugene Grigsby, Jr. biography published in 1992
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