Kindred Spirits Lilian

The Setting

African American artists and educators Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lilian Thomas Burwell, both native Washingtonians, grew up in a racially segregated society. Take a look at where they studied, taught, exhibited their work, and spent their summers.

Click images to expand them.

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Hilda Wilkinson Brown attended M Street High School in Washington, D.C., the first African American public high school in the nation. Courtesy District of Columbia Public School Records, Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, Washington, DC

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Hilda Wilkinson Brown (r.) taught art at Miner Teachers College, one of the few institutions of higher learning for African Americans during segregation. Courtesy University of the District of Columbia, University Archives

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The Miner Teachers College building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is now part of the Howard University campus. Courtesy University of the District of Columbia, University Archives

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Lilian Thomas Burwell was born in 1927 in Freedmen’s Hospital, the major hospital for the African American community in Washington, D.C., later renamed Howard University Hospital. Courtesy National Library of Medicine

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Lilian Thomas Burwell graduated from Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. Burwell recalls that the high school attracted top-notch African American faculty who were denied teaching opportunities elsewhere during the era of racial segregation.

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Hilda Wilkinson Brown exhibited her work at D.C.’s Barnett Aden Gallery, the first privately-owned black gallery in the nation and one of the few venues where African American artists could showcase their works during the 1940s-60s. Courtesy James A. Porter Papers, 1867-2009, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, Emory University

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Hilda Wilkinson Brown and her husband, physician Schley Brown, lived in LeDroit Park, a historic neighborhood in Washington, D.C., which was home to many prominent African Americans. Courtesy Library of Congress

Many of Wilkinson Brown’s paintings were inspired by LeDroit Park. Her painting Third and Rhode Island depicts the street outside her window. Courtesy Lilian Thomas Burwell © Lilian Thomas Burwell

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Lilian Thomas Burwell followed in her aunt Hilda’s footsteps and taught art in the District of Columbia’s public schools, including Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Courtesy District of Columbia Public School Records, Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, Washington, DC

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Hilda Wilkinson Brown spent many summers painting at Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard, which was a popular destination for African Americans who were not welcome at many beaches due to racial discrimination. Courtesy Lilian Thomas Burwell © Lilian Thomas Burwell

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Lilian Thomas Burwell lives and works in Highland Beach, Maryland. As a teenager, she visited her aunt Hilda at this summer resort for African Americans.