Robert Pious

Robert Pious
Born	Robert Savon Pious (1908-03-07)March 7, 1908 Meridian, Mississippi,U.S.
Died	February 1, 1983(1983-02-01)(aged 74) The Bronx,New York City,U.S.
Alma mater	Art Institute of Chicago National Academy of Design
Known for	Painting, illustration
Movement	Harlem Renaissance

Robert Savon Pious(March 7, 1908 – February 1, 1983) was an American painter and illustrator who is best known for producing cartoons, portraits, and illustrations for books, newspapers, andpulp magazines.In 1929, Pious received a prestigiousSpingarn Prizefor drawing from theWilliam E. Harmon Foundation.In 1940, he won first prize in a national poster contest for theAmerican Negro Expositionin Chicago.

Life and career

Pious was born on March 7, 1908, inMeridian, Mississippi,in the United States. His parents, Nathaniel and Loula Pious, were the children of freed slaves, and his father worked on the railroad before dying in 1914. His mother remarried a year later, and the family moved toSt. Louis, Missouri,and subsequently toChicago.Pious graduated high school in Chicago in 1926 and began attending theSchool of the Art Institute of Chicagoin 1927 while working nights at a printing plant. In 1928, he married college student Ruth G. Mitchell. Pious left college after two years to pursue his career as a freelance commercial illustrator. He composed editorial cartoons, advertisements, and illustrations for Continental Features, a firm that supplied African American newspapers. He supplemented his income by painting portraits of Chicago's African American elites.In 1929, Pious's pen-and-ink portrait ofRoland Hayeswon the prestigious Springarn Black and White prize from theWilliam E. Harmon Foundation.

Poster for the American Negro Exposition in Chicago, 1940

In 1931, Pious received a four-year scholarship to study at theNational Academy of Designin New York City. He moved toHarlem,where he participated in theHarlem Renaissanceand befriended African American artists and scholars such asCharles Seifert,Augusta Savage,Ernest Crichlow,Charles Alston,Norman Lewis,Joseph Delaney,Romare Bearden,andJacob Lawrence.In 1933, he ran a short-lived comic strip calledThe Dopes(laterThe Dupes), which featured a middle-class Black family and achieved syndication in Black newspapers such as thePittsburgh Courierand theAtlanta Daily World.Pious's portraits of African American celebrities, includingPaul Robeson,Richmond Barthé,Adam Clayton Powell Jr.,andMarian Anderson,appeared on the covers ofOpportunity: A Journal of Negro Life.During theGreat Depression,Pious taught art at the Harlem branch of theYMCAand painted murals on the walls of New York City clinics, libraries, and schools, includingDeWitt Clinton High School,for theWPA Federal Art Project.In 1936, he designed the poster for theTexas Centennial Exposition.

In 1940, Pious won first prize in a national poster contest for theAmerican Negro Exposition,aworld's fairheld inChicagoto celebrate the 75th anniversary of theEmancipation Proclamation.Pious beat out a hundred entrants and received a $100 prize from MayorFiorello La GuardiaatNew York City Hall.Photos of the award ceremony appeared in national newspapers. His poster appeared on the cover of the Exposition's official program.

Comic book cover, 1952

During the 1940s, Pious produced cartoons for theUnited States Office of War Informationand illustrated stories in pulp magazines and comic books. Starting in the 1950s, he also illustrated books for well-known publishers such asGrosset & Dunlap.From the 1960s onward, his portraits of notable African Americans appeared regularly on covers of theNational Scene,a weekly distributed nationwide as a Sunday supplement in African American newspapers.His 1951 oil-on-canvas portrait ofHarriet Tubmanis held by theNational Portrait Gallery.

Pious died at his home inthe Bronxon February 1, 1983, at the age of 74.