The woman who spearheaded the Dallas Museum of Art’s African art collection has retired after 20 years at the museum.
Roslyn Adele Walker will now serve as a curator emerita and consultant to the DMA after 55 years working at museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Classical Greek, Roman and European art has long received much of the focus in museum space. But Walker and other curators of African, indigenous and Asian art have helped spotlight artwork from other parts of the world.
The DMA added almost 400 works of African art to its collections during Walker’s tenure. The senior curator of the Arts of Africa, the Americas and the Pacific and The Margaret McDermott Curator of African Art also oversaw the renovation of the DMA’s African art galleries in 2016. She organized over 38 exhibitions throughout her career including the 2018 exhibition “The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana,” the first exhibition featuring the royal regalia of the Asante people in nearly 30 years.
Walker also wrote “The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art,” a book which showcases objects from the museum’s African collection.
“I’ll miss the day-to-day contact with my curatorial colleagues and other members of the DMA family,” Walker said. “I won’t stop being curious about African art. I’ll continue to research objects and topics that interest me.”
Museum Director Agustín Arteaga said Walker will be missed and the legacy of her work will have an impact on the museum for years to come.
“Working with Dr. Roslyn Walker has been a delight. Her expertise has largely benefited the museum, expanding the collection through great acquisitions; her creative, surprising exhibitions have advanced the scholarship of the field and seduced our audiences,” Arteaga said.
Walker taught African art at universities across the U.S. such as the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Maryland, College Park.
She has also served on the board of the Arts Council of the African Studies Association and on the public art committee of the Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.
Walker graduated from Hampton University with a specialization in art education. She received a master’s and doctorate in art history with a specialization in African art from Indiana University.
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