Ellsworth Augustus Ausby

Ellsworth Augustus Ausby (April 5, 1942 – March 6, 2011) was an African-American visual artist and educator known for his abstract work and experimentation with supports and surfaces.

Ellsworth Augustus Ausby
Born	(1942-04-05)April 5, 1942 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Died	March 6, 2011(2011-03-06) (aged 68) New York City, U.S.
Education	School of Visual Arts Pratt Institute (BFA)
Occupations	Visual artist educator

Life

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Ausby attended both the School of Visual Arts and the Pratt Institute, earning a Bachelor's of Fine Arts from the latter institution. For a time, he worked as a waiter in the famous Slugs' Saloon, where he crossed paths with Salvador Dalí, saw Sun Ra perform, and witnessed the shooting of Lee Morgan.^[1]

Ausby taught painting at the School of Visual Arts from 1979 until his death in 2011, and remained an active professional artist until his death. He had four children and was married twice, first to culinary anthropologist Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor,^[2] and then to activist artist Jamillah Jennings, with whom he founded Nefer International Gallery.^[3] The gallery, based out of their Brooklyn home, was founded with the goal of exhibiting the work of Black artists in their community and encouraging those with means to collect more work by Black artists.

In 1980, Ausby participated in a series of meetings hosted by the New Museum, the Minority Artists’ Dialog, dedicated to discussing issues within the visual arts community and addressing the underrepresentation of nonwhite artists. Following the discussion series, Ausby aided the New Museum in organizing and curating the final installation in the Events: Fashion Moda, Taller Boricua, Artists Invite Artists exhibition.^[4]

Ellsworth Ausby died in 2011 in Brooklyn, New York.