Charles White works on a painting in 1978. An Otis College of Art and Design scholarship was created in his honor. (photo by Frank J. Thomas courtesy of The Charles White Archive)

Otis College of Art and Design named a four-year scholarship program for American artist and educator Charles White.

The Charles White Art and Design Scholarship celebrates the legacy of the artist and serves to honor his enduring influence as an Otis faculty member from 1965 until his death in 1979. The scholarship is made possible in part through a $10 million gift from Mei-Lee Ney, Chair of Otis College’s Board of Trustees, and is launched in cooperation with White’s son, C. Ian White, and the Charles White Archives.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to Mei-Lee for her generous gift and shared commitment to Otis College’s important diversity, equity and inclusion work and to Ian White for partnering with us to celebrate his father’s work and legacy,” Otis College president Charles Hirschhorn said. “The Charles White Art and Design Scholarship is one of many ways Otis College is expanding access to arts education for young creatives in Los Angeles and beyond.”

The inaugural scholarship will be awarded to an incoming first-year art and design student from an underrepresented group in Los Angeles County in spring 2022 for a fall start. Beginning in 2023, the scholarship will expand to include one student from Los Angeles County, and one from anywhere in the United States, using the same selection criteria as the Los Angeles County scholarship.

“This scholarship program creates an opportunity for a young artist to explore their creative gifts. Charles White was twice denied scholarships to further his artistic interests as a young adult solely based on his pigmentation,” C. Ian White said. “As an established artist, he was even denied entry to see his own work because of his pigmentation. I appreciate the generous gift by Mei-Lee for her recognition of White’s contribution and acknowledgement of the lack of students of color in artistic institutions.”

White was renowned for his figurative style, which ran counter to abstract movements of the time, as well as his representations of Black life and his commentary on social justice issues as seen through his paintings, drawings, lithographs and murals. As an instructor, White influenced the work and practice of such celebrated artists as Kerry James Marshall, David Hammons, Richard Wyatt Jr., Alonzo Davis, Judithe Hernández and Kent Twitchell.

“Generations of students were impacted by Charles White’s presence on the Otis campus, who were and continue to be tremendous contributors in their own right to the arts and their communities,” C. Ian White said. “This scholarship will be an avenue for young creatives to enter the arts and build a more inclusive cultural landscape.”

Ney’s $10 million gift is among the largest in Otis College’s history. To commemorate her generosity, a building on the college’s Goldsmith campus in Westchester will be named after her.

“It’s an honor to provide access for underrepresented students to an art and design education at Otis College, an institution I care about deeply,” Ney said. “Charles White opened the door for so many artists of diverse backgrounds through his impactful work and teaching, and it’s wonderful to continue that legacy through this new scholarship.”

For information, visit otis.edu/charles-white-scholarship.