Woman Playing Piano Painting

Tim Schools hails from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he excelled in gymnastics at a young age, becoming All State state champion at 15. He headed west at 19 to visit a friend in Chicago doing outreach in the inner city. Tim joined forces teaching kids back flips and gardening, as well as spending time with older residents at home. The rich trove of art and music thriving in their neighborhoods inspired him to start painting again. All this had a strong impact on his work. He soon became friends with Elizabeth Catlett, William McBride, William Sylvester Carter, Margaret Burroughs and others known as Black Renaissance artists, along with William Carter. Schools soon came under the wing of Anselmo Carnini, long-time curator of prints at the Art Institute of Chicago, resulting in his work being shown at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago Public Library, the South Shore Community Art Center and the Harold Washington Library. Collectors include Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton, Michael Jordan, Glenn O'Brien, Odetta, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Camilla Cosby. In recent years Schools has explored in depth early blues and jazz as evidenced by his monumental portraits of Lead Belly (with photo-collage background), Buddy Guy -- and a New York jazz band going at it full tilt.