Many of our members and visitors knew Dr. James Newton as a beloved member of our arts community. Dr. Newton was a University of Delaware professor integral to the establishment of UD’s Black American Studies program, a Wilmington leader who helped found the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage and served on the boards of YWCA and DelArt, a historian for Aesthetic Dynamics who guided the groundbreaking 2021 exhibition Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks, and a distinguished artist himself. This exhibition celebrates the artistic life and legacy of this celebrated painter, printmaker, scholar, and professor. Presented in collaboration with the University Museums at the University of Delaware, it showcases Newton’s vibrant compositions, which explore social justice and American history. DelArt’s exhibition will feature Newton’s early work from his time in graduate study through his exploration of abstraction and emergence of figuration.