Black Creative Genius in Chicago: Geraldine McCullough

by Rashieda Witter, BMRC Visual Arts Researcher

You have 10 seconds to name a Black woman artist from Chicago, go!

Did you say Margaret Burroughs? Maybe Simone Leigh? Bonus points if Barbara Jones-Hogu came to mind. In the first installment of my Black Creative Genius in Chicago series, I want to (re)introduce you to someone whose name belongs on your pantheon of visual artists: painter, sculptor, and educator, Geraldine McCullough.

Stepping Stones to Art

Geraldine McCullough was born on December 1, 1917, in Kingston, Arkansas. When she was four years old, her family moved to the South Side of Chicago during the Great Migration. An obsessive doodler early on, McCullough’s artistic aspirations blossomed during her childhood. Her mother nurtured her creative curiosity through frequent trips to the Field Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Another formative experience was receiving Stepping Stones to Art, a series of early 20th-century educational books designed to teach children how to draw and paint [1].

She attended Hyde Park High School before pursuing formal art training at the renowned School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in painting in 1948 and a master’s degree in art education in 1955.

Blurring the lines between master and student, she simultaneously taught art classes at Wendell Phillips High School—Chicago’s first all-Black high school. In a 1976 interview with the Chicago Tribune, McCullough shared, “I like to teach. I like working with young minds.” [2] True to her word, she spent 15 years nurturing creativity in her role at Wendell Phillips High School.

Phoenix Rising

Outside of the classroom, McCullough continued to paint and draw; but her curiosity about welding was sparked in the 1960s by her husband, Lester McCullough, a steelworker who introduced her to the basics of the craft. That spark marked the beginning of her decades-long career as a sculptor.

She made her sculpting debut at the 1963 Century of Negro Exposition in Chicago, and her ascension was maintained from there. McCullough made history in 1964, when she became the first Black woman to win the Philadelphia Widener Award - the highest prize in American sculpture - for her work titled Phoenix.

Through a combination of auspice and audacity, her steel and copper homage to the mythical bird garnered the top prize at an exhibition that was invitation-only. In an act of faith, McCullough sent slides of the sculpture to the organizers of the exhibition, and was astoundingly elevated from unknown entrant, to victor. Abstract and laden with spiritual symbolism, McCullough stated that the inspiration for Phoenix was the lived experiences of African Americans. She explained, “It seemed to me that the Negro, crushed so long under the weight of oppression, is now reborn and soaring towards complete freedom." [3]

Like its namesake, Phoenix propelled her career to new heights. A new era of artistic prominence began for McCullough, as she became one of only a few Black women working as abstract sculptors during the mid-twentieth century. [4]

Meddling with Metal

Primarily working with steel, copper, and bronze, McCullough drew inspiration from the regal traditions of African art, particularly the art of Benin and Uganda. Her sculptures often incorporated repoussé (metal hammered into relief) and welding techniques that merged modernist abstraction with African iconography.

Her 1972 public sculpture titled Our King depicts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a 15th century Benin chieftain. The work was commissioned to create a symbol of peace following the riots of 1968 after King’s assassination, and still stands strong in Austin, a historically Black neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. The choice to portray King in traditional African royal attire was both aesthetic and political—a declaration of lineage, dignity, and sovereignty.

Religious and spiritual symbolism are omnipresent throughout McCullough’s oeuvre. Works such as Ancestral Parade II, Echo 5, and Pyramid blend divine references with West African ceremonial traditions. Many of her sculptures explored themes of liberation, peace, and Black empowerment. In the presence of her work, you can witness that she created with a sense of intuitiveness as she translated heavy sheets of metal into forms that radiated both strength and grace.

Art for People's Sake

McCullough spent the later decades of her life living and creating in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1964, she joined the faculty at Rosary College (now Dominican University), in River Forest, IL., where she taught for 25 years, including over a decade as Chair of the Art Department. There, she mentored a generation of students, many of whom pursued careers in the arts. McCullough saw teaching as another arena in which to shape the culture. Early in both their careers, acclaimed sculptor Richard Hunt was her apprentice, and they remained friends for the duration of their lives.[5]

Despite her growing acclaim, McCullough maintained a modest, community-rooted presence. Affectionately called “Gerry” by her loved ones and colleagues, she was a member of Sapphires and Crystals - a collective of African American women artists founded in Chicago in 1987 – and served in multiple leadership positions in her adoptive home of Oak Park.[6]

The subjects and placements of McCullough’s public sculpture is also a testament to her unwavering commitment to community. She created the plaques for the Bronzeville Walk of Fame, which includes 92 bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalks of Martin Luther King Drive from 25th Street to 35th Street. They honor influential African Americans and Bronzeville residents, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Sam Cooke, Ida B. Wells, and more.[7] Her piece at the Du Sable Museum of African American History’s sculpture garden honors Jean-Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, a Haitian of African and French descent considered to be the first permanent non-Indian settler in Chicago.[8] Her reverence for Black history and culture is felt in each of these works, and I encourage you to visit them to experience her sincerity. The map below includes pins to all of the works in Chicago - stand before them and consider the hands that bent and welded cold metal into a vision of peace and possibility.

An Enduring Legacy

Geraldine McCullough passed away in 2008 at 91 years old, leaving behind a body of work that is as physically durable as it is spiritually resonant. Her sculptures stand in public spaces, museums, and private collections, each piece a testament to her vision of Black identity as regal and resilient. In an art world that still struggles to recognize the names of Black women sculptors, Geraldine McCullough’s legacy is a phoenix that deserves to keep rising.