NEW LONDON, CONN.- The Connecticut College Department of Art announces the upcoming event, “The Memorable Barkley L. Hendricks,” on Saturday April 14, 2018, at 3 p.m., in Oliva Hall, Cummings Arts Center.

Hendricks, an acclaimed artist who had taught at Connecticut College for 38 years, was best known for his celebratory and uncompromising portrait paintings, often of African American subjects. He passed away April 18, 2017, at the age of 72.

Hendricks' exhibitions included the widely traveled "Barkley Hendricks: Birth of the Cool," "Hearts Hands Eyes Mind" and "Barkley L. Hendricks," the latter of which debuted in 2016 at the Jack Shainman Gallery in Manhattan.

"His work paved the way for a new generation of figurative painters, and his absence in the art world will sure be felt,” said Shainman.

The program, an educational tribute, will start with a talk by a leading expert on Hendricks’ work, Trevor Schoonmaker, chief curator and the Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Schoonmaker has said, "Today, Barkley’s extensive body of work is as vital and vibrant as ever, and the full impact of his art and teaching is only beginning to unfold.”

A panel discussion about Hendricks’ life and art will follow the talk. Moderating the panel is Pamela Franks, senior deputy director and the Seymour H. Knox Jr., Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Yale University Art Gallery. Joining Schoonmaker on the panel are Barbara Zabel, professor emeritus of art history at Connecticut College; James Montford, artist and former director, Edward Mitchell Bannister Gallery, Rhode Island College and artist; and David Katzenstein, photographer, artist and former student of Hendricks.

A reception will follow.