Floyd Newsum, Jr. | For Better Life | 2008 | Painted Aluminum | Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhoods
Depicting residents from the Evans/Rosedale neighborhood engaged in healthy outdoor activities, For Better Life is a representative of Floyd Newsum’s animated painting style and underscores the value and fun of family and community engagement. Each of the vibrant, cheery scenes supports the values of excellence and fair play, themes modeled by Hazel Harvey Peace, the important African American educator and community activist for whom the Center is named.
About the Artist
Floyd Newsum’s career spanned some 48 years as a visual artist. He received a MFA degree from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Newsum lived in Houston, Texas where he worked as an artist and professor of art at the University of Houston – Downtown. He is married to his lovely wife, Janice, and they have two successful, adult children.
Newsum has been in more than 105 solo and group exhibitions. His works have been displayed at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee; the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA), Madison, Wisconsin; the Taft Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio; the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas; the Polk Museum in Lakeland, Florida; the David C. Driskell Center in College Park, Maryland; the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas; and other institutions across the United States. His works have also exhibited internationally at the Califia Gallery in Horazdovice, Czech Republic; the American Center in St. Petersburg, Russia; and the University Museum and Art Gallery in Hong Kong SAR, China (香港大學美術博物館).
Floyd Newsum’s works are in the permanent collections of museums including the Smithsonian National Museum of African History and Culture, Washington, DC; the Studio Museum of Harlem, New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas; the David C. Driskell Center, College Park, Maryland; and others.
Floyd’s works have been published in various catalogs, books and magazines. A recent publication, “Outside the Lines”, published by the Contemporary Arts Museum – Houston, as part of its 65th anniversary, catalogs Newsum’s work amongst prominent abstract American artists across the country. A forthcoming monograph celebrating 50 years of Floyd’s work, including essays by prominent curators and scholars such as Valerie Cassel Oliver, Alvia Wardlaw, Maria C. Gaztambide, and Melanee Harvey is scheduled for publication in 2026.
Newsum was commissioned for eight public art projects. Although a painter — primarily known for his works on paper and canvas — four of his public art works were sculptures. Floyd believed that artists should not limit themselves to only one medium. Accordingly, as an artist he created across a variety of media including prints, drawings, and sculptures.
As a co-founder of Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas’s Third Ward, Floyd Newsum, Jr. was a cultural force whose legacy continues to resonate through his artistic contributions, public commissions, and dedication to community empowerment.
Although his professional art career spanned more than four decades, Floyd’s involvement with the creative arts dated back to his early childhood years. Art was more than a profession; it was his life passion.
