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2007 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1002
Commending Murry N. DePillars.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 21, 2007
Agreed to by the Senate, February 22, 2007

 

WHEREAS, Dr. Murry N. DePillars, a respected leader in the Richmond community and an outstanding educator, scholar, and visual artist, is recognized for his longtime service to the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Dr. DePillars was born in Chicago, Illinois, and received a doctoral degree in art education at Pennsylvania State University; and

WHEREAS, Dr. DePillars has made numerous contributions to Virginia Commonwealth University as the assistant dean and then dean of the School of Arts from 1971 until his retirement in 1995; and

WHEREAS, Dr. DePillars has contributed articles, reviews, and illustrations to many local and national publications, including Chicago Renaissance, The New York Times, The International Review of African-American Art, Chicago Defender, Chicago Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Art Business News, Folklore from Contemporary Jamaicans, Style Weekly, The Atlanta Constitution, The Washington Post, The Virginian Pilot and Ledger-Star, and the Village Voice; he also wrote the foreword in Wadsworth Jarrell: The Artist as Revolutionary; and

WHEREAS, Dr. DePillars is a renowned member of a group of serious African-American artists known as AfriCOBRA, who confront American and global societal and cultural issues through their work; and

WHEREAS, a celebrated artist, Dr. DePillars’ body of work captures on canvas his family and life experiences; his Mississippi Delta heritage; and the culture of jazz, blues, gospel and ethnic music of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Commonwealth University honored Dr. DePillars with its Presidential Medallion for his extraordinary contributions to the university and the culturally rich communities of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, receiving local and national recognition, Dr. DePillars' work has been exhibited at Virginia State University, the University of Virginia, Hampton University, among other universities and art galleries throughout the country; his painting From the Mississippi Delta was donated to the permanent collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts by the Friends of African and African-American Art; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Dr. Murry N. DePillars for his many outstanding contributions to the Commonwealth; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Murry N. DePillars as an expression of the General Assembly’s appreciation of his tremendous talent and artistic achievements and his dedication to art education in Virginia.