GERALDINE MCCULLOUGH

Geraldine McCullough (1917 – 2008) was a painter, sculptor and art professor. She was best known for her mostly abstract large-scale metal sculptures.

Geraldine McCullough was born in 1917, in Kingston, Arkansas. She received the John D. Steinbecker scholarship to study at the Art Institute of Chicago where she received her B.A. in 1948 and her M.A.E. in 1955. Her first welded sculpture was presented in 1963 at the Century of Negro Progress Exposition in Chicago. Her work Phoenix, a 250-pound welded steel and copper sculpture, won the George D. Widener Gold Medal, this brought international attention to her artwork. She would later serve as a professor of Art and Chairwoman of the Art Department at the Rosary College (now Dominican University), in River Forest, Illinois, from 1964 to 1989, and received an honorary doctorate upon her retirement.

Using materials as varied as brazed sheet copper, sheet brass, rods, and polyester resins in her creations, the artist imbues her sculpture with movement and expressive qualities. McCullough executed her work mainly through bronze casting and welding of sheet copper, further enhancing the surface of the sculpture to result in vibrant and dynamic textural expression. According to her own words, McCullough intuitively channels what is on her mind.

Several of Geraldine McCullough's public sculptures are installed in Chicago and across the state of Illinois. The artist has created most notably two large-scale bronze representations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., including Our King, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr created in 1973, located in Chicago, and Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated in 1988, installed at the Freedom Corner in Springfield Illinois.

McCullough’s work are included in numerous private and public collections including Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois; The Oak Park River Forest Museum, Oakpark, Illinois; Oakland Museum, Oakland, California; Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, New York; Du Sable Museum of African American History, Chicago, Illinois, and Muriel Ziek Foundation.