A Toast to Artist/Teacher Bessie Ruth Bridges

Our honoree Bessie Ruth Bridges has been an artist for nearly 75 years, and she hasn’t stopped yet. We are celebrating her long tenure as an art teacher in the Philadelphia school system while paying homage to her as an artist in her own right.

We are also honoring the many artists/teachers like her who have paved and are paving the way for students to learn to express themselves artistically. We invite you to participate in saluting not only Mrs. Bridges but also in recognizing your contributions. Teachers are remarkable, and we want to thank you.

Mrs. Bridges, 98, taught art classes for more than 30 years, starting around 1954 and retiring in 1986 as an art supervisor. Among her students at Simon Gratz High School were Barkley L. Hendricks, James Brantley and Ed Jones. She helped Hendricks and Brantley compile a portfolio for entry into the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in the early 1960s. Hendricks, who died in 2017, is a renowned artist known for his realistic life-sized portraits of Black Americans. Brantley is a major talent with an illustrious career in the city of Philadelphia.

She is among the thousands of art teachers who gave young Black students, in particular, their first formal art lessons, following the tradition of many Black artists who taught for salary and painted out of love of craft. She was a teacher at Gratz for 25 years and the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts for five years. She also taught art classes for adults at her church. Her painting “Untitled (Street Scene)” is in the collection at PAFA, a gift from Constance L. Clayton, an avid art collector who served as superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. Mrs. Bridges was married to Dr. Charles Bridges, who was a fixture in the community. He died at age 98 two years ago.

This FREE event is sponsored by the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance/Paul Robeson House & Museum and Moody Jones Gallery. It is being held at the Robeson House & its Frances P. Aulston Annex. Seating is limited, so please RSVP early.

Read more about Bessie Ruth Bridges

Host or Publisher Paul Robeson House & Museum