After the sit-in at the lunch counter at the Montgomery, Alabama courthouse in 1960, Marzette Watts and eight others were expelled from Alabama State College. Enduring intimidation from the police and the Ku Klux Klan, Marzette, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, left Alabama and enrolled at NYU in New York City. Having been an art major at ASC, he continued his studies in the department where famed Amistad muralist Hale Woodruff was teaching. He later spent a year at the Sorbonne.
Settling into 27 Cooper Square in Manhattan, Marzette became part of a vibrant community that included Le Roi Jones, Allen Ginsberg, Larry Rivers, and Free Jazz musician, Archie Schepp. The activism of the Free Jazz movement shifted Marzette’s genius from painting to music. He became a close friend of Lawrence Weiner with whom he worked on soundtracks. Later, he formed his own recording companies and eventually, taught at Wesleyan.
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Hudson Valley Auctioneers will offer 150 lots including oils, ink on paper, and watercolors. There will also be photographs and a rare Delancey Street Museum flyer featuring a Bob Thompson exhibit. This will be an in-person as well as live auctioneers event.
* A bound color catalog featuring an in-depth biography of Marzette Watts and images of all 150 lots, is now available. Please forward a check in the amount of $40 ($35 + $5 shipping) to the order of Hudson Valley Auctioneers at the address shown below. To pay with a credit card, please call Neil Vaughn at 914-489-2399 or email: 432mainstreet@gmail.com
PREVIEW: Sunday, October 8th, 2pm to 5pm.
PREVIEW: Monday, October 9th, 5pm until auction at 7pm.
Auctioneer: Neil Vaughn Tel: 914-489-2399
Hudson Valley Auctioneers
432 Main Street
Beacon, NY 12508
Main Office: Tel: 845-831-6800
Office Manager: Theo de Haas Tel: 845-480-2381
This news first appeared on blacknews.com
