About the Artist
Glenn “Frank” Franklin was born in Oklahoma in 1945 and began his art career at the age of 5, filling sketchbooks with his drawings.
In the 1960s, he began sketching Black Americans, Mr. Franklin believes that today’s black youth cannot relate to past achievements and are searching for a new identity. “That’s why I paint Black subjects – to make a statement of who we are, what we’ve accomplished, and where we’re going.”
His works feature the disappearing rural African-American lifestyle of the past, the struggle which began during the years of slavery and continued even after the Emancipation, and the lives of modern Black Americans in urban settings.
Mr. Franklin is a member of the San Antonio Ethnic Arts Society. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States and Europe, and has won numerous awards, most recently Best of Show in the San Antonio Veterans Fine Arts Show, leading to his representing San Antonio in the national Veterans Fine Arts competition.
This is the fourth poster the San Antonio Public Library has created featuring the art of Glenn Franklin.