Betty Blayton-Taylor

BRONX, NEW YORK - Betty Blayton-Taylor, a nationally recognized artist and founding director of the Children's Art Carnival in Harlem, a community arts organization dedicated to education through the arts, died Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in Bronx, N.Y. Ms. Blayton-Taylor was 79 and a resident of New York for more than 50 years, where she influenced two generations or more of young artists and was instrumental in opening avenues for African-American artists to exhibit their works. She was a founding member of the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Harlem Textile Works. She also had a distinguished career as a painter, printmaker, illustrator and sculptor. Her work is shown nationally and internationally and is in public and private collections, including those of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the late Blanchette Rockefeller and David Rockefeller, Sidney Poitier, Hampton University and Spelman College. A native of Williamsburg, Va., Ms. Blayton-Taylor graduated from Syracuse University in 1959 with a degree in Fine Arts. She settled in New York City, and in 1965, she became a founding member and served on the board (1965-1975) of The Studio Museum in Harlem. In conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art, she helped establish the Children's Art Carnival in Harlem and served as director of the program from 1969 to 1998. She was recognized throughout her life with numerous awards. In 1971, she was featured in the film, "Five," along with artists Romare Bearden, Charles White, Richard Hunt and Barbara Chase-Riboud, about their work and creative process. In 2005, she was honored by the Women's Caucus for Art with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Blayton-Taylor was pre-deceased by her parents, Alleyne H. and Dr. James B. Blayton; her brother, James B. Blayton Jr; and husband, "Rheet" Ivanhoe Taylor. Survivors include her sister, Barbara B. Richardson, and brother, Oscar H. Blayton (Bonnie), of Williamsburg, Va.; nieces, Shaun Blayton of New York City and Lisa Jackson (Alden) of Boston; and nephews, David Richardson (Jocelyn) of Austin, Texas, and Omar Blayton (Lauren) of Boston. A memorial service is being planned for late autumn in New York City.