Language overlays in a variety of material

The title of a new exhibition at the Martha’s Vineyard Bank in Chilmark, “Evangeline J. Montgomery: Art, Diplomacy, and the Power of Print,” speaks to the remarkable multipronged career of Montgomery, who passed away last year at 95.

“E.J. was a towering figure in the arts,” says Jane Carpenter-Rock, an art historian and diplomat who is now the acting director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The exhibition, coordinated by project manager, Stephany Neal, explores Montgomery’s legacy as both a distinguished printmaker and also a pioneering art administrator in the U.S. State Department. Her work helped introduce American artists to global audiences through exhibitions, collections, and international initiatives that fostered cross-cultural dialogue and shaped global perceptions of American art.

Montgomery was also deeply connected with Martha’s Vineyard and the vibrant cultural community of Oak Bluffs. As the adopted sister of Ralf Meshack Coleman, the first Black director of the WPA Theater Project, and Warren Rich Coleman, who originated the role of Crown in “Porgy and Bess,” Montgomery was introduced to an influential circle of artists and intellectuals, including Loïs Mailou Jones. 

As a teenager, Montgomery spent summers on the Island with her Coleman family, frequently meeting friends, swimming at Inkwell Beach, and working at both Hilliard’s Kitch-in-Vue Candy Shop and also Rexall Drug Store on Circuit Avenue. The Island’s artistic atmosphere and the people she encountered here inspired the abstract art that would define her artistic career.

Montgomery discovered her artistic talents when she received her first oil painting set at the age of 14. She earned her BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in 1969, and began curating exhibits in museums, university galleries, and art centers. Carpenter-Rock says, “E.J. saw the power of art to help uplift the community.”

In 1983, Montgomery began her career with the State Department as a program development officer for the Arts America Program, specializing in American exhibitions touring abroad. In this capacity, she developed and implemented successful American fine art programs in the United States and throughout the world. Carpenter-Rock notes, “That was E.J. taking her skills and talents as an artist, her knowledge of art history, her knowledge of the power of art as a unifying force to uplift the community, all into a government role.”

She continues, “E.J. was helping American artists achieve international recognition. She not only sent the work overseas, but also sent many of the artists on exchanges. They included Loïs Mailou Jones, Betye Saar, Faith Ringgold, and Sam Gilliam, who credit her with helping to grow their art practice in new and different ways. There were very few people doing that, particularly for Black artists in the 1980s, ’90s, and 2000s. She was able to leverage her own role to give these artists a much bigger platform, even promoting their careers over her own.”

As an artist, Montgomery began making iconic metal “ancestral boxes” in the early 1970s, creating them primarily during the early part of her studio career. Health challenges from Parkinson’s disease in 1994 led her to focus on etching, lithography, and monoprints. As the exhibition at the bank reflects, Montgomery excelled in this medium. Her distinct, vibrant markmaking created intricate abstract patterns that pull you in. While sitting on the paper’s flat surface, they seem to pulsate back and forth in space. The repetition of shapes creates an almost audible musical rhythm. Montgomery once said, “My art often contains calligraphic marks, strokes, swirling lines, language overlays of varied materials and colors, shadows and atmospheric conditions, and naturalistic formations in nature, such as trees, water, and rocks.”

Carpenter-Rock notes, “She was working in abstraction when it was not the dominant trend among African American artists from the 1960s onward. What was popular in the Black arts movement during this period was the representation of the Black body and the creation of empowering images of African Americans.”

Adrienne L. Childs, curator and art historian, says, “At times it was an uphill battle, but that never deterred E.J. from doing what she felt was interesting. There’s a spiritual nature to her work. I would say [it is] almost impressionistic. She was interested in the wider strokes of art history, including Monet. I see that kind of interest in nature as an abstract concept coming out in Impressionism.”

Jocelyn Coleman Walton, Montgomery’s great-niece, says of her aunt, with whom she was close: “Most important to me was how others in the art field, young and old, artists and collectors, responded to Vangie … she was held in reverence … as an icon … as the queen. Many times, I watched as they looked at her with reverence, with gratitude and respect for all that she accomplished, all that she had done for them, for the doors she had opened, for the connections she had made, for the role model she represented, and for the friend she had become.”

M.V. Bank’s executive assistant, Karen Pontremoli, shares its longstanding tradition of art exhibitions: “As a true community bank, Martha’s Vineyard Bank is proud of its commitment to the community by helping to preserve and celebrate the Island’s rich history, traditions, and values by showcasing the artists and cultural experiences that make Martha’s Vineyard unique.”

She adds about this show, “Artist E.J. Montgomery embodies this enduring connection. Her ties to Martha’s Vineyard are deeply rooted in her family’s legacy and the vibrant cultural heritage of Oak Bluffs, making her work a meaningful reflection of the Island’s history, resilience, and artistic spirit.”

“Evangeline J. Montgomery: Art, Diplomacy, and the Power of Print” is on view through August 28. “Artful Conversations: E.J. Montgomery’s Life as an Artist” will take place on August 20 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Center of Knowhere, 73 Circuit Ave., Oak Bluffs, with panelists Stephany Neal, Dr. Adrienne Childs, and Jocelyn Walton. Reservations for free tickets can be obtained at knowhereart.com.