Anacostia Museum showcases Black arts educators in D.C.

The Anacostia Community Museum recently reopened to the public with a new exhibition, A Bold and Beautiful Vision: A Century of Black Arts Education in Washington, DC, 1900-2000. It offers a who’s who of educators who used art to inspire generations of students at Washington’s public schools, colleges, and universities. 

One of the artists featured is William N. Buckner (1888-1984), who in 1907 graduated from the M Street School, the predecessor to the renowned Dunbar High School, where he discovered an affinity for woodworking and developed his skills in drawing, painting, and silversmithing. After graduation from the Miner Normal School, Buckner became a teacher in the then-segregated DC Public School System. His first job was at Lincoln Elementary School as a woodworking teacher. Over the course of his career, Buckner came to serve as an industrial arts teacher, art teacher, counselor, and principal. He also taught art, mechanical drawing, and industrial arts for seven years (1917-24) at Howard University, while also serving in the Army in 1918 to instruct soldiers in carpentry.  He retired as principal of Armstrong Technical High School in 1957. 

While a student, Buckner was immersed in the arts curriculum developed by Thomas Hunster (1851-1929), the Director of Drawing for the segregated African American public schools since 1875. During a 47-year career in education in Washington, DC, Hunster implemented a rigorous and progressive art curriculum for all grade levels from kindergarten through teacher training at the Miner Normal School. He included both manual and industrial arts, and encouraged students to draw from observation, bringing plants and live animals into the classroom and challenging them to observe the built environment, including the Washington Monument. Hunster’s own landscape paintings are on display in the exhibition. He influenced generations of Washingtonians through his instruction and curriculum, cementing his legacy as the “Father of Art” in Washington, DC.

William Bucker’s early art education followed Hunster’s curriculum, and Hunster himself taught him at the Miner Normal School for teachers in 1910. A marionette created by Buckner is on view in the exhibition. It is intricate and detailed, and demonstrates Buckner’s craftsmanship with its lifelike features, painted facial expressions and jointed limbs. We do not know if Buckner modeled his puppets on real people, but it is easy to imagine him observing people on the streets of DC to create them. We can also envision the marionette coming to life in a staged production, moving as it pleases, exhibiting its unique character and personality. The markings and wear on the marionette’s controller attest that it was used and its movements lively.

William Buckner likely created this marionette with the intent that it be used in local productions. The 1930s saw a glut of interest in puppetry in Washington as marionette clubs popped up in schools and local community centers staged puppet shows. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) even created theatre programs including puppetry to employ artists during the Depression. Alma Thomas, another renowned artist and career educator in DC public schools, studied under master puppeteer Tony Sarg while a teacher at Shaw Junior High School. She gained acclaim locally for her staged productions with educators and students alike.

On view in the exhibition, Thomas Hunster’s landscape paintings, Alma Thomas’ paintset, and William Buckner’s marionette invite us to think about their work developing skills and interests in their students. What can we learn and apply from our observations? By taking a closer look, we, too, can become pupils of Hunster’s and Buckner’s and learn from them.

A Bold and Beautiful Vision: A Century of Black Arts Education in Washington, DC, 1900-2000  is now on view at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. The museum is open daily 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. (closed December 25) and is located at 1901 Fort Place, SE, Washington, DC 20020. You can learn more about this exhibition and public programs by visiting the museum’s website: anacostia.si.edu.