by Artist (258)
Evolution of a Black Man
2015
Object Type:
Painting
Creation Place:
North America, American, Texas
Dimensions:
19 1/2 x 29 5/8 in. (50 x 75 cm)
Medium and Support:
Acrylic on canvas
Accession Number:
2024.0003.0008
Credit Line:
Gift of Rebecca and Jack Drake
El Franco Lee II was born in 1979 in Houston, Texas, where he still lives. He received his formal art training at the University of Houston, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2007 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2013.
Despite his training, much of the inspiration for his art comes from his upbringing as the son of El Franco Lee, a prominent member of the Texas House of Representatives and the first Black county commissioner of Harris County, Texas. Lee’s father served as commissioner from 1985 until his death in 2016, gaining a reputation throughout the state as one of the most respected political leaders in Texas. In addition to his father’s work, Lee’s uncle Robert E. Lee III was a key figure in the Black Panther Party in Chicago.
Across his body of work, Lee’s family history plays a large role. His painting, Evolution of a Black Man, is a fusion of his family’s political history with both the grander narrative of Black history and popular culture. Lee calls his art “Urban Mannerist Pop Art” because of his combination of realist and surrealist aesthetics and the use of imagery from popular culture, such as comic books and sports.
The painting depicts life for Black men around the world through several periods. It traces the changes in Black identity from ancient Egyptians to enslaved peoples to the Black Panther Party to, finally, a modern-day rapper. As the painting was completed in 2015, it begs us to ask the question of whether there has been another phase of transformation since then.
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