Houston honors the legacy of visionary artist Floyd Newsum

Hundreds filled the pews in the nave of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Tuesday morning to commemorate the life and legacy of Floyd Newsum, a visionary artist, former University of Houston Downtown professor and one of the founders of the Row Houses project in the Third Ward known as the “Magnificent Seven.”

Newsum died unexpectedly on August 14, shocking many in the Houston arts community and beyond. He was 73. The cause of death was not disclosed.

“Throughout the halls of UHD, where Floyd Newsum taught for 48 years, the word I have heard most often in the last week has been ‘heartbroken.’ After so many years, his absence still seems unreal,” said Mark Cervenka, a former colleague of Newsum and professor of art at UHD.

Newsum is nationally known for his paintings, drawings, sculptures and public art projects, including two works of art for the Houston Metro Light Rail Station and seven sculptures for the Main Street Square Station between Dallas and McKinney Streets.

According to PRH, his work has also been shown in more than 103 exhibitions in museums and galleries across the United States, including 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. His work has also been shown in prestigious permanent collections, such as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

While Newsum’s reputation as a renowned artist is undeniable, friends, family, former UHD colleagues, fellow deacons and clergy at Wheeler, where he served for 22 years, painted a more holistic picture. They spoke of his joy as a beloved husband of 51 years, devoted father, faithful deacon, consummate professor, mentor, martial artist and friend, but also of his playful demeanor and colorful personality, often reflected in his humor and fashion.

“This guy could dress up. He could jazz up a pair of paint-covered jeans and look like he was going to prom,” said Brian Rollins, a longtime friend who served with Newsum as a deacon at Wheeler.

“Everyone loved Floyd, like Raymond.”

While many traditionally wore black clothing, his family wore different colors to honor Newsum, who loved color. His son, Floyd Emahn Newsum, wore blue, his father’s favorite color, he said. He acknowledged how serious and somber the occasion was, but said he couldn’t help but think about what his father would say if he saw everyone wearing black.

“I can well imagine my father saying something like, ‘Well, actually they honored me because black absorbs all colors,'” he said to loud laughter.

“‘For me, everyone wears all colors.'”

‘Just Floyd’

What Rollins and many others admired most was his optimism, humility and service-oriented attitude.

“The ability to see and listen to people went beyond the classroom for Floyd,” Cervenka said.

“I can’t remember an instance where I didn’t see Floyd greet a waiter at a coffee shop, a clerk at Starbucks, an administrator, a faculty or staff member, or a new student worker in the faculty office without being polite and appreciative of their work. Floyd’s growing national reputation as an artist and his long tenure at UHD suggest a certain respect from many colleagues who addressed Floyd Newsum as Professor Newsum. But when people said Professor Newsum, he would tell everyone, ‘No, I’m just Floyd. Call me Floyd.'”

What has shocked Cervenka most is the constant flood of messages from former and current Newsum students struggling to cope with the news of his death.

Michael Martin is one of those still in shock. Martin, a former student of Newsum who now works as a visual arts instructor at MECA Houston, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting arts and culture in underserved communities, credits Newsum for teaching him how to establish himself as a full-time artist and the importance of teaching art.

“He was a real teacher. He wasn’t just a 9 to 5 teacher, he was a teacher through and through,” Martin said in an interview with The Landing shortly after Newsum’s death.

“He not only taught you how to paint, but also how to be a better person, which is something most people don’t expect when they take an art class.”

Pastor Marcus Cosby led the service and concluded by saying that Newsum had lived a remarkable and purposeful life.

“It’s interesting, whether you knew his name or not, you knew him for his works,” Cosby said. “You knew him for his contributions. You knew him for the investments he made. You knew him for his smile. You knew him for being a positive light in your life.”

Cosby urged those in attendance to emulate Newsum – someone who was easily overlooked amid his countless accolades because he didn’t put himself front and center. Instead, Newsum would bring breakfast to those in need from his house while biking around town, wash the feet of the homeless and needy downtown, drive a church shuttle to take churchgoers from the parking lot to the front door and, in his paint-stained jeans, would always try to be a blessing to others, Cosby said.

“Floyd Newsum had this going on for a long time, for a long period of time. And if you didn’t know, you probably would never have known,” he said.

“Floyd Newsum was the man, but he handled it in a way that gave glory to God. He didn’t put himself first.”

“There are artists who are so absorbed in themselves that you don’t see the art, you see only the art. … But when the two merge harmoniously, you get a timeless work,” says Fifth Ward artist Joseph Halcomb, who helped install Newsum’s work at Project Row Houses last year.

As the nearly two-hour service came to a close, Cosby instructed those in attendance to fulfill Newsum’s only wish at his service: to celebrate and engage with his large, 18-by-35-foot plexiglass piece, “Grace and Mercy,” which adorns the atrium of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.

“He was just determined to bring art to life,” said Algenita Davis, a longtime church member, philanthropist and entrepreneur from Houston.

“His legacy is that he inspires students and inspires people who are interested in art and the use of art to improve lives.”

Algenita Davis is a member of the board of directors of Houston Landing. Davis had no influence on decisions related to the reporting and publication of this article. Ethics policy And List of financial supporters are available online.

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