Simmie Knox | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Knox in 2025 | |
| Born | Simmie Lee Knox (1935-08-18)August 18, 1935 (age 89) |
| Occupation | painter |
| Known for | portraits of Bill and Hillary Clinton |
| Children | 3 |
Simmie Lee Knox[1] (born August 18, 1935)[2] is an American painter who painted the officialWhite House portrait of formerUnited States PresidentBill Clinton andFirst LadyHillary Clinton. He was the first black American artist to receive a presidential portrait commission.[3][4]
Simmie Knox was born on August 18, 1935, inAliceville, Alabama, to Simmie Knox Sr., a carpenter and mechanic, and Amelia Knox.[5] At a young age Simmie's parents divorced and he was sent to live on his aunt and uncle's sharecropper farm with his eight cousins inLeroy, Alabama. At age 13 he was hit in the eye by abaseball while playing a game, and it was suggested that drawing would aid his recovery. His segregated school (connected toMost Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church inMobile, Alabama) did not have an art program, but the Catholic nuns who taught him recognized his talent and found someone to teach him.[5] He then attendedCentral High School in Mobile.[5] Subsequently, Knox studied atDelaware State College while working in a textile factory. He then enrolled atTyler School of Art,Pennsylvania, where he attained hismaster's degree.[1][4]
Knox began his career teaching at theBowie State College, Maryland and theDuke Ellington School of the Arts,Washington D.C. He paintedstill lifes and sold them on a market stall.[6] On leaving college abstract art was in vogue. In 1976 his portrait of educator and activistMary McLeod Bethune was unveiled in theSouth Carolina House of Representatives.[7] He continued in this style through the 1970s before committing himself to portraiture in 1981.[6] "With abstract painting I didn't feel the challenge. The face is the most complicated thing there is. The challenge is finding that thing, that makes it different from another face," he later said.[1]
ComedianBill Cosby is credited with raising his profile in the 1990s when Knox was commissioned to paint 12 members of the Cosby family.[6] He subsequently painted notable figures such asMuhammad Ali, and Supreme Court JusticesThurgood Marshall andRuth Bader Ginsburg, before coming to the attention of theU.S. Senate and theWhite House. In 2000 he was selected to create portraits of SenatorBlanche Bruce and of PresidentBill Clinton.[8] He became the first black American painter to paint an official portrait of an American president.[6][9] Thepaintings of Bill and Hillary Clinton took two years to complete, finished in 2002[1] and unveiled in June 2004, hanging in the White House's East Wing.[6]
As a professional artist Knox works from a small convertedgarage next to his home inSilver Spring,Maryland.[6][8] In 2004 he claimed to charge up to $60,000 for a portrait commission (though he wouldn't reveal the fee for his presidential work).[1] Knox has been described as "the unofficial portraitist for trailblazing African Americans",[8] adding paintings to his portfolio of U.S. Attorney GeneralEric Holder, GovernorAndrew Cuomo and a sculpture of mayor of Baltimore,Clarence Burns. He has also done portraits ofOprah Winfrey and baseball legendHank Aaron.[4] In 2013 a short film was created and shown about Knox's life, by the Delaware Humanities Forum.[8]
Knox produced portraits ofJoseph A. Johnson Jr.,James Lawson,Walter R. Murray Jr. andPerry Wallace, four African-American alumni ofVanderbilt University, in 2018. They hang in Kirkland hall, the administration building.[10]
Knox's paintings are held in a number of public art collections, including the Maryland State Art Collection,[12] Oklahoma State Capitol Collection,[13] and theUnited States Senate.[14]
Knox has married twice. He has a daughter, Sheri, from his earlier marriage and children Zachary and Amelia with his current wife, Roberta.[1]
