Cheryl Finley, the Walton Endowed Professor in the department of art and visual culture at Spelman College in Atlanta, is the 2026 recipient of the David C. Driskill Prize from the High Museum of Art. The national award recognizes outstanding contributions to African American art and art history.
Dr. Finely is an art historian, curator, art critic, educator and author whose work centers on contemporary African diaspora art, art markets, African American art and film, photography, and museum studies. She currently directs the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective at Spelman. Dr. Finely is also the co-organizer of Black Portraiture[s], a global academic convening committed to the study of African diasporic art and culture, bringing artists, educators and innovators together from around the world. As a scholar, Dr. Finely has authored numerous publications, including her book Committed to Memory: The Art of the Slave Ship Icon (Princeton University Press, 2018).
A graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Dr. Finely earned her Ph.D. in African American studies and history of art from Yale University. Before teaching at Spelman, Dr. Finley served on the faculties of her undergraduate alma mater and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
