Albert Russell’s Backyard Art Gallery
As is widely known by now, Columbus, Ohio, is developing a reputation within the art world for its museums, art galleries, theaters, dramatic performances, festivals, comedy venues and other creative artistic expressions. While it will never be a Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or even Santa Fe, New Mexico, Columbus, Ohio, is fast becoming one of the nation’s most talked about tourist destinations for art lovers. Outside of Chicago, Illinois, Columbus can make an argument for being the Midwest’s most talked about and perhaps frequented city by those with an affinity for all things art.
Although institutions such as the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio Theatre, Palace Theatre, Southern Theatre, Lincoln Theatre and the Wexner Center for the Arts located on the campus of The Ohio State University get the lion’s share of attention when the topic of Columbus’s art scene comes up one of the reasons for the city’s rising reputation yet seldom acknowledged attractions is the proliferation of small community art exhibits, storefront museums and backyard art galleries that have sprouted up over the past twenty years or so. Such is the case with Mr. Albert Russell’s Backyard Art Gallery located in the Driving Park neighborhood on the Near East Side of Columbus. Specifically, the 700 block of Miller Avenue is situated south of East Main Street and East Fulton Street, putting it smack dab in the epicenter of that residential area.
Mr. Russell, a very active octogenarian and long-time resident of Columbus, Ohio, is not only a lover of art but a collector of a wide range of scintillating pieces. A native of Columbus and a proud graduate of East High School of decades past, to call Mr. Russell an art aficionado would be an understatement. Yesterday (Saturday, 3 October), I had the pleasure of making Mr. Russell’s acquaintance. A gregarious man with an infectious disposition Mr. Russell welcomed me with open arms. Although circumstances beyond my control kept me from arriving in the afternoon when the festivities began and the selection of food were aplenty, the forty minutes or so visiting with Mr. Russell was well worth the trip from Delaware County where I have resided for the past seventeen years.
Mr. Bart Ridgill, director of construction of the Bronzeville Urban Redevelopment Initiative and I arrived just as things were being packed away. According to Mr. Willis Brown, a longtime friend of Mr. Russell’s and president of the Bronzeville Neighborhood Association, the event is something that Mr. Russell has been hosting for several years now. Although the title of this article is Albert Russell’s Backyard Art Gallery, Mr. Russell’s backyard is not the gallery’s permanent site. Rather Mr. Russell pulls from his collection which is stored in his Miller Avenue house several pieces to be displayed on his patio for public viewing.
As a student of Black history, both African American and African much of the artwork to which I was exposed in Mr. Russell’s backyard yesterday resonated with me in a bold and meaningful way. For example, the faces of Malcolm X, my father’s minister, Dr. Angela Davis, basketball hall of famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar and the modern civil rights movement’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were as life-like as anything I’ve seen in recent memory. The image of woman and child is stunning. The stories behind each piece of art placed each image in its proper context.
Mr. Russell’s description of each piece gave me an even greater appreciation for what was on display. While I have not had the pleasure of viewing all that Mr. Russell has in his inventory if what was on display yesterday is any indication of his entire collection then he can expect a steady stream of people to come knocking on his door any day now.
Judson L. Jeffries, PhD, MPH is Professor of African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University.
