Dr. David C. Driskell (b. 1931, Eatonton, GA, d. 2020, Hyattsville, MD) was a legendary African American artist and art historian. As an artist, scholar, and curator, he made substantial contributions to these fields that have changed the way we think about American art. His paintings and collages unite a strong modernist impulse with his personal vision and memory. Driskell transformed iconic African art forms into honorific personal visions – flattened, decorated, and resurfaced in his signature style, color, and calligraphy - and melded these forms with Modernist aesthetics and the tradition of Western art. Driskell’s pioneering scholarship underpins the current field of African American art history. Among his most influential curatorial contributions is the exhibition and catalogue for the groundbreaking Two Centuries of Black American Art, which opened in 1976 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and traveled to museums across the country. In 1977, after having taught at Talladega College, Howard University, and Fisk University, Driskell joined the Department of Art at the University of Maryland where he remained until his retirement in 1998. The University of Maryland opened The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora in 2001 to celebrate his legacy as an artist and art historian.

In his 'Windows' series, Driskell delves into the concept of windows as both physical and metaphorical portals. He examines the ideas of passage, transition, and introspection, presenting windows as gateways to new perspectives and inner realms of contemplation. Through his use of bold geometric forms and intricate patterns, he invites viewers to reflect on the boundaries between the external and internal worlds.