The University of Oregon has announced that the family of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Lanker has donated 75 works from his collection “I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America” to the universities Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
The collections features portraits of African-American women known for their roles in civil rights activism, academia, the arts, business, politics, sports and humanitarian work. Lanker described these women as having “dreamed a world not only better for themselves but for generations to come, a world where character and ability matter, not color or gender.”
The collection was first shown in 1989 at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. The book that resulted from the collection was reprinted 14 times.
“We are deeply honored to accept this most generous gift from the Lankers,” said Jill Hartz, executive director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.. “We know these photographs will be treasured for the history they impart as well as for their beauty and power.”
Lanker died in 2011 after suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 63 years old.
