Legacy of African American Art Galleries

Founded in 1988 by Eric Hanks, M. Hanks Gallery is among the most respected African American art galleries dedicated to preserving and promoting Black artistic excellence. Our collection spans generations, featuring significant works that highlight the creativity, resilience, and cultural contributions of African American artists.

“I was inspired by Barnett-Aden Gallery and Brockman Gallery,” said Hanks. Barnett-Aden Gallery was founded in 1943 by James V. Herring and Alonzo Aden and is the first African American-owned commercial art gallery in the U.S. It closed in 1969. Herring was an artist and art professor who also founded the art department at Howard University in 1922. Brockman Gallery was founded in Los Angeles in 1967 by Alonzo and Dale Davis, brothers who are artists. It closed in 1990.

“David Driskell was also a big influence and a big help,” Hanks continues. “In fact, it was he who introduced me to Elizabeth Catlett and arranged a meeting at her home and studio in Cuernavaca, Mexico.” Catlett was already well known and well-respected, having works in numerous prestigious private and institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, both in New York City.

The result of the meeting was the first exhibition at the gallery in 1988. It featured sculptures and fine art prints by Catlett. She and her husband, Francisco Mora, also an artist, traveled from Mexico to attend the reception. “It was a great way to kick off my journey as an art dealer, consultant, and appraiser,” said Hanks. “She spoke about her experiences as an artist from the beginning of her career in the late 1930s right up to the present time.”

Since that time, works of art by many of the finest artists in the U.S. were exhibited at the gallery, including Romare Bearden, Henry Tanner, Jacob Lawrence, Noah Purifoy, Meta Warrick Fuller, Phoebe Beasley, John Outterbridge, Walter Williams, Charles White and others too numerous to name.

Starting in 1989, Hanks began teaching art appreciation classes in the gallery and later at various outside venues including schools and universities, law offices and corporate facilities. “The art appreciation classes grew out of a need expressed by visitors to my gallery to know more about not only African American art in particular but also art in general,” Hanks recalls. “I created eight different classes that explored African American art history, how to appreciate abstract art, how to look at art in general, and understanding prints.”

From 1990 to 1993, Hanks published a newsletter called Expose. Articles about collecting art, brief biographies of leading and emerging artists, and a glossary of art terms were part of the overall offering.

Then, beginning in 1993, he began offering art appraising services. “Collectors were having trouble finding appraisers knowledgeable about African American art,” Hanks said, “so I decided to use my expertise and training to fill the void.” He is certified by the Appraisers Association of America in African American Art and has performed hundreds of appraisals for insurance, estate, and donation purposes.

Since 2021, Hanks has been an appraiser on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow. “I’m a fan of the show so when the call came and I was asked to be a part of it, I jumped at the opportunity,” he said. “It has been a rewarding experience working with my fellow appraisers, the producers and all of the other personnel who work hard to bring the show to the public, and the general public who bring in not only their items to be appraised but also their interesting and often personal stories.”

Eric’s Perspective, a podcast started in 2020, features a variety of guests including collectors like Dr. Joy Simmons, Robert C. Davidson and Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, arts professionals like Dr. Bridget Cooks, Paul Von Blum and Dr. Halima Taha, artists like Phoebe Beasley, Alonzo Davis and Mark Steven Greenfield, musicians, authors and actors like Todd Cochran, Terry McMillan, and CCH Pounder, museum directors like Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Director and CEO of Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and Jamaal B. Sheats, Director and Curator of Fisk University Galleries, as well as many other distinguished guests who share their thoughts and opinions on diverse subjects relating to African American culture.

Eric Hanks’s passion for art in general and African American art in particular burns as brightly today, if not brighter, than it did when he opened his gallery in 1988. “I’m so fortunate to be doing what I absolutely love to do,” he said. “Every day I’m presented with new challenges that enhance my experience.”