When you drop a pebble in a pool of water you can hear the initial splash, but it’s unlikely that you’ll pick up the sound of the ripples that flow outward.
The same can be said of mentorship. In the beginning, it’s not always clear how far its impact will reach.
Eddie McAnthony, who is called “Doc” by friends and former students, didn’t set out to become a mentor or gallery owner.
“All I wanted to do was to make art,” he said. But, McAnthony, who is now 90 with a head full of short silver hair, is both.
‘You’re in the wrong place’
In college, an advisor encouraged McAnthony to consider teaching to help pay the bills as he pursued his dreams of making art.
Neither of his parents knew how to read or write, so McAnthony felt like he was behind in school as a child.
Teaching is not something he had considered, but he found that his own experience gave him the patience and empathy to take on that role.
“I knew because I had a hard time understanding not to insult other folks’ intelligence,” he said. “I never thought a question was too simple. Nor did I ever think it was too hard, because if it was too hard, I realized you can always find that answer somewhere else.”
His teaching career helped support his family and allowed him to save money. In 1973, he bought a single-family home with the intention of using it as a studio.
As he started to display and sell his own work, he realized that there were several other artists who would also benefit from the opportunity to show their work.
In 1979, he officially opened McAnthony’s Multicultural Studio and Gallery, which is believed to be the first Black-owned gallery in Fort Worth.
The gallery is far from the city’s museum district. It’s on a residential street, near a busy road with a Walmart and fast-food restaurants nearby.
Today, there is a handful of other galleries nearby in the predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood. But at the time, his decision was scrutinized.
“People told me, ‘Your gallery's nice, but you're in the wrong place, you know?’” McAnthony said.
‘That stuck with me’
But it was in exactly the right place for Sedrick Huckaby.
Now 49, he’s a nationally recognized artist with works in many major museums. He also gave President George W. Bush painting lessons. But when Huckaby was in high school he was a frequent fixture at McAnthony’s.
“There's a mastery to everything that he does, and I admired that in his work,” Huckaby said. “And I just want[ed] to sit and hear how his mind works.”
Just over three years ago, Huckaby opened his own gallery and gathering space in his grandmother’s former home.
It’s called Kinfolk House, and it’s just 10 minutes from McAnthony’s place.
“He wanted to do this thing so well, right where he was in the ’hood, that it would draw all people from all over the area into the ’hood to see it. That stuck with me,” Huckaby said.
McAnthony’s mentorship helped shape Huckaby’s career. In turn, Huckaby has shared some of that same wisdom with another artist.
The company you keep
Riley Holloway, 36, is a soft-spoken figurative painter based in Plano. He met Huckaby about seven years ago.
The three men recently gathered for a conversation at Talley Dunn Gallery in Dallas, where Huckaby has an impressive body of work on display. The exhibition includes a life-sized papier-mache sculpture of Craig Watkins, the first Black district attorney in Texas; a large oil painting of Opal Lee, the Nobel Peace Prize nominee; and 101 portraits of people living in Nacimiento, Mexico, who celebrate Juneteenth.
The meeting was the first time Holloway met McAnthony — and it was his first time seeing Huckaby with his own mentor.
“I found their approach pretty similar … shockingly so,” Holloway said. “It really is about the company you keep and who you get your advice from, right? Because they really can shape you.”
Huckaby didn’t just mentor Holloway. He encouraged the younger artist to be himself.
“I had a point where I was feeling a little aimless. I was just painting portraits, just to be painting portraits,” Holloway recalled. “And [what] he told me was to lean fully into who you are.”
Figuring out who you are is one of the most important parts of being an artist. It’s also one of the hardest.
“A whole lot of people run around trying to be other people. You know it, you see it, and all of us see that,” McAnthony said. “But that's what you have to do. You gotta be true to yourself in order, the way I feel about it, to be successful.”
That lesson continues to be passed along. For these three artists, it’s more than a ripple effect. It’s a strong artistic lineage.
Eddie “Doc” McAnthony
Age: 90
On his mentor, John Biggers: “[He]”got his doctorate degree while we were still in school, and when he came back after he finished … we couldn't wait to holler and call him Doc.”
On being willing to learn: “My mind is always open for more growth, because I truly believe that when you stop learning, it's time for you to cash in your chips. And I'm not ready to cash them in just yet, so I learn every opportunity that I get to learn something.”
Sedrick Huckaby
Age: 49
On his mentor, “Doc” Eddie McAnthony: “There's a mastery to everything that he does, and I admired that in his work.”
On the viability of an art career: “I want to see more people feel like they can go into this. They can actually do it. It's not a wish. It's not a hope, but it's a thing that if you worked at it … you can do it.”
Riley Holloway
Age: 36
On his mentor, Sedrick Huckaby: "The way he glorifies certain figures in his community as well [through his work] that kind of led me to want to be more useful with my artwork.”
On paying it forward: “When [Sedrick] gets an opportunity, it's almost like he thinks of, how can I get Riley involved in this opportunity? … He's pretty amazing. And then it encourages me to do the same for somebody.”
Talley Dunn is hosting a fundraiser for Kinfolk House 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug 9, at Talley Dunn Gallery, 5020 Tracy St., Dallas. Free. talleydunn.com
Sedrick Huckaby’s “Higher Ground” exhibition is on view through Aug. 30 at Talley Dunn Gallery.
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