Kit White, author of the best-selling book “101 Things to Learn in Art School,” gifted 82 of his original drawings from the book to the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery at the George Washington University in honor of the gallery’s namesake, Luther W. Brady, B.A. ’46, M.D. ’48.
The gallery recently relocated to the historic Flagg Building, home of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.
In the book, Mr. White develops art school lessons and offers both technical advice and educated concepts. A drawing, based on historical or contemporary works of art, complements each concept. The highly detailed drawings “in the style of” well-known artists may be used by fine arts faculty and students at the Corcoran.
“It was always clear that [the drawings] had a role in the pedagogy of art, and I conceived of them as illustration not just of ideas, but of the act of drawing itself,” Mr. White said. “But it was Luther Brady’s vision of them as having a life of their own, as drawings, that gave them a new role to play.”
Mr. White is a well-known artist and a professor of painting at Pratt Institute in New York City. Previously, he worked with GW’s Master of Fine Arts students as part of the opening of a May 2015 Brady Gallery exhibition, “Art in the Making: A New Adaptation.” He also visited the studios of GW’s graduate art students to critique works. In November 2017, he was the featured guest at a program for students from GW’s Department of Fine Arts and Art History entitled “101 Things to Learn in Art School – An evening with Kit White.”
“We are honored and delighted to be the recipient of these wonderful drawings, which exemplify the idea that ‘art can be anything,’” Lenore Miller, director of the Brady Gallery, said. “We are grateful to Kit White for his generous contribution, which honors the vision and spirit of Luther Brady, and will be a valuable addition to our collection and art students for generations to come.”
Mr. White and Dr. Brady became acquainted through a mutual friend and developed an appreciation for each other over the years. This connection was Mr. White’s primary reason for gifting the drawings to the gallery. He first proposed the gift on June 14 during the opening night of “Full Circle: Hue and Saturation in the Washington Color School,” the Brady Gallery’s inaugural exhibition in the Flagg Building.
Dr. Brady was a renowned radiation oncologist and an alumnus and trustee emeritus of the GW. His distinguished reputation in the medical field is built on his teaching excellence and innovative approaches to the treatment of cancer. He supported and celebrated the work of countless artists over many years by creating successful partnerships among artists and galleries across the country. In March 2001, the George Washington University Art Gallery opened on GW’s Foggy Bottom campus and the following year it was dedicated as the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery.
Dr. Brady passed away on July 13, one month after the opening of “Full Circle.” He was 92.
