Floyd Newsum, a visionary, trailblazing artist and one of seven founders of Project Row Houses in Third Ward, died Wednesday morning, the nonprofit confirmed. He was 73.
“Our hearts have cracked wide open learning that our dear founder Floyd Newsum has gone to be with the ancestors,” PRH said in an Instagram post. “Floyd was vibrant, insightful, and ready with a challenging question or unexpected suggestion followed by a smile and a laugh to let you know he was pushing you because he felt you were worth pushing.”
PRH declined to disclose the cause of Newsum’s death.
He is known around the region and nationally for his paintings, drawings, sculptures and public art projects.
Newsum has created several public art projects, including two Houston Metro Light Rail Station art designs and seven sculptures for the Main Street Square Station between Dallas and McKinney Streets.
His work has also been exhibited in more than 103 solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries across the U.S., such as the Taft Museum in Cincinnati, the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, and the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, according to PRH. His work has also been shown in prestigious permanent collections, such as The Smithsonian in Washington D.C., the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
One of his most recent exhibitions in 2023, dubbed “Evolution of Sight,” had six different themes and explored the evolution of his works throughout his 50-year career as a visual artist.
“I like the whole environment of creating art that is two-dimensional, which is truly my passion: color and paint, prints, drawings, but to also have the liberty and the challenge sometimes of creating sculptures,” Newsum said in a 2016 Facebook video describing his artistic style and highlighting some of his Houston sculptures like the “Ladder of Hope” suspended from the ceiling of Acres Homes Multi-Service Center.
“I want someone to remember me years from now that Floyd Newsum understood that an artist should not limit themselves to one medium – that he should dare to do other things.”
But as much joy that he found in art, he also found his passion in teaching, a call that PRH said was “rooted in the full meaning of collective creative action.”
Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Newsum received a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University and taught as a professor of art at the University of Houston-Downtown. Newsum has taught for 48 years and was awarded the UHD Scholarship/Creativity award in 2003, according to a UHD spokesperson.
“Floyd’s profound impact on Project Row Houses and our community is beyond measure,” PRH executive director Danielle Burns Wilson, said in a statement on Instagram.
“His contributions were not just artistic, but also deeply personal, touching the lives of so many with his generosity, wisdom, and unwavering commitment to uplifting others. Floyd loved to talk about art and was always curious of what other artists were thinking. His loss leaves an irreplaceable void in our hearts, and his legacy will continue to inspire and guide us in the years to come.”
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