David C. Driskell was born in 1931 in Eatonton, Georgia. Educated at Howard University, he received his MFA in 1961 from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and currently holds the title of Distinguished University Professor of Art at the University of Maryland at College Park. Trained as a painter and art historian, Driskell works principally in collage and mixed media. He is represented by the D.C. Moore Gallery in New York City, Midtown Payson Gallery in Jupiter Island, Florida, the Sherry Washington Gallery in Detroit, Michigan and Bomani Gallery in San Francisco.

His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the US including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Baltimore Museum, The Oakland Museum and The Whitney Museum of American Art. He has also exhibited internationally in South Africa, Poland and Brazil.

His work has been reviewed in many publications including Art News, The New Art Examiner, Art in America, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Detroit Free Press, and The New York Times. He has been the recipient of several foundation fellowships among which are the Harmon Foundation, three Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships, and the Danforth Foundation.

Highly regarded as an artist and a scholar, Driskell is cited as one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of African American art. He is also the recipient of nine honorary doctoral degrees in art and he has contributed significantly to scholarships in the history of art on the role of Black artists in America. He has authored five exhibition books on the subject of African American art, co-authored four others, and published more than 40 catalogues from exhibitions he has curated. His articles and essays on African American art have appeared in major publications throughout the world. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in Art from Howard University in 1981 and from The Catholic University of America in 1996. In October 1997, Driskell was awarded the President's Medal, the highest honor the University of Maryland bestows on a member of the faculty.