Lower Roxbury Black History Project

Oral history interview transcript with Milton Derr

Bailey, Ronald William (Creator)

Johnson, Milton, 1932- (Interviewee)
Winters, Rosemary (Interviewer)
Harris, Milton (Interviewer)

English

[ca. 1989-1990]

Text

Oral histories

born digital

Milton Derr, also known as Milton Johnson, was a painter, illustrator and educator. Born in 1932 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Derr studied at the Layton School of Art, Milwaukee, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Independent Group of Painters and Sculptors, Tokyo, Japan. He has been featured in many exhibitions, including several sponsored by Northeastern University's African-American Master Artists in Residency Program, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Studio Museum of Harlem. During the Korean War, in 1951-1955, he served in the United States Air Force. In 1964, Derr joined the faculty at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, where he taught for 40 years. He also taught at Tufts University. Derr passed away December 20, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. Derr described himself as a figurative painter whose style falls somewhere between expressionism and impressionism. He has been included among the blackstream artists of the 1960s and 1970s because although some of his works portray black subjects, his approach was to universalize the black experience by focusing on themes that transcend race and employ generally accepted modern art techniques in the European tradition. Additionally, he employed linear qualities and decorative patterning of the Asian traditions in his artwork. In this interview, Derr gives a tour of his painting studio in Boston and speaks about his artistic process and philosophy. Derr gives a brief biography of his life and an overview of his training as an artist. He speaks about the influence of eastern and western traditions in his artwork and highlights painting projects in his studio. In particular, he describes a recent set design project for a dance production by choreographer Marla Blakey, as well as a painting project for the Orchard Park housing project in Roxbury. Other topics discussed in this interview include working as Black artist, painting portraits of Black subjects, creating a functional studio space, and symbolism in Derr's paintings. Derr discusses a triptych painting that he is making for a community center, including the colors, symbols, and processes involved.

In 1989 and 1990, Milton Derr, Mel King, and Byron Rushing, three prominent members of Boston's African American community, were interviewed about their lives and work in preparation for a book by Ronald W. Bailey with Diane Turner and Robert Hayden, entitled Lower Roxbury: A Community of Treasures in the City of Boston.--Collection finding aid

Collection finding aid: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20297052

Ronald W. Bailey oral history collection, 1989-1990 (M153)

Johnson, Milton, 1932-
African American art -- Massachusetts -- Boston
African American artists -- Massachusetts -- Boston
African Americans -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Social conditions

DerrMilton_Transcript

Northeastern University Library
Archives and Special Collections (M153)

Copyright Northeastern University. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
Requests for permission to publish material should be discussed with the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.