Emmett Wigglesworth, muralist, painter, printmaker, sculptor, fabric designer and poet, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the College of Art in Philadelphia and later
enlisted in the military service. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corp. in 1957, and is now a permanent resident of N.Y. since 1958.
Statement:
It seems that in a time of materialism, self-interest, and self-gratification to the extreme, the purpose of life has been forgotten… so too is the purpose of talent. The enhancement of humanity gives life and talent meaning. It is my hope
and prayers that by using my talents in a functional way I can remind humanity of the need to search for, and put into practice spiritual truth.
Emmett Wigglesworth
continued
Mr. Wigglesworth has designed and illustrated several books and magazines for various publishing companies including Harper and Row, McGraw Hill, Macmillan Press, American Books and Sesame Street Magazine. He has written poetry, which he
combines with his printmaking, and produced a documentary on the “Aging”, while also designing the covers for two volumes of the Journal of Black Poetry.
He taught art at the New Muse in Brooklyn, the J.O.I.N. Center, the Children’s Art Carnival and the Harlem Parents Association in Manhattan. He was also an instructor for a number of special programs for the Board of Education Program, where
he taught academics through art.
He participated in the Civil Rights movement starting in 1959. In the early 1960’s he worked with the CORE Freedom School in Selma, Alabama teaching art. During that same period he wrote and directed two plays for the CORE Freedom Theatre in
San Francisco, California.
In 1968 he designed the interior and exterior of the Bedford Stuyvesant Theatre in Brooklyn. In addition, he designed costumes and stage sets for the Black Spectrum Theatre in Queens N.Y.
He has exhibited work in Ghana, and throughout the U.S. and his mural commissions include: various private homes, P.S. 181 Elementary School in Brooklyn N.Y., the N.Y. Cultural Council, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Kings County Hospital,
Abyssinian Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn New York Children’s Center.
Emmett Wigglesworth is a member of the National Conference of Artists, the Weusi Artist N.Y.C., Association of Caribbean and American Artists, AAA Artists and Cross Sections, and the Fulton Art Fair Artists.
