The Seed

Lithograph, 1983, edition 100. 17 1/8 x 23 in. Signed, dated, titled and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression printed on ARCHES watermarked paper. The margins are full with a deckle edge on all four sides. The condition is excellent. Biggers studied at the Hampton Institute with Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White. He also got to know Hale Woodruff around this time. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he studied at Penn State and with a masters and PhD in hand, he moved to Houston where he served as founder and chairman of Texas State (now Texas Southern) University's art department. He was there until 1983, the year of this print. Biggers was one of the first African American artists to visit Africa and he did so with a UNESCO fellowship to study West African cultural traditions. His worked was heavily influenced by his visits to Africa as he returned several times. In addition to his prints and drawings, Biggers was a gifted painter and his murals are found primarily in the Houston area. In fact, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts hosted a major retrospective of the artist's work in 1995 which traveled to several cities. This large, dynamic lithograph is beautifully drawn and the influence of his many trips to Africa is clearly evident.