Earl J. Hooks grew up in South Baltimore, an impoverished section of the city. He was one of 11 children. His mother had always dreamed of becoming an artist before she married, and when Earl took an interest in drawing and model-building at a very young age, she hoped perhaps he could pursue that interest as he grew older. He was only eight years old when he was invited to attend classes at Walter’s Art Gallery in Baltimore on Saturdays. When he began to prepare for high school, an opportunity again presented itself, and again, Earl’s mother supported it.

Earl’s friend, Ralph Matthews, Jr., lived on the northwest side of the city. Ralph’s father was a writer for the Baltimore African-American, and his mother was a teacher. The Matthews family invited Earl to come to live with them so he could attend Frederick Douglass High School. After graduation, he went on to study at Howard University (BFA, 1949), taking classes with James Porter, James L. Wells, and Lois Jones in a program under the direction of James Herring.

When Hooks graduated from Howard, he was offered a teaching position at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC. His offer was for only a year, but while there, his work came to the attention of Harold Brennan, who was an administrator for the School of American Craftsmen in Rochester, NY. Brennan encouraged him to continue graduate work in Rochester. Hooks earned a certificate for his work there and also at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

After a year, Hooks moved to Gary, Indiana, and opened Studio A Gallery. He remained in Gary for twelve years, although Studio A only survived a year, teaching at the Northwest Campus of Indiana University. He had exhibited at the Smithsonian (1954, 1963), the Art Institute of Chicago (1957), Syracuse University, Indiana University, De Pauw University, the South Bend Art Center, Howard University, and the Gary Artists’ League. In 1967, David Driskell invited Hooks to join the faculty at Fisk University in Nashville, TN.

Hooks is known to many as a ceramicist, and surely he was one of the finest African American ceramicists of the 20th century, but that medium accounted for only a portion of his entire body of work. Hooks was also an accomplished painter, photographer, and draftsman, often combining several mediums within the scope of a single work.

The year of his passing, the University of Delaware opened the exhibition, A Century of African American Art, The Paul R. Jones Collection, which included a marble execution of the artist’s work, Man of Sorrows.

Amaki continued,

“Mr. Hooks gained recognition for his unique use of monochromatic forms that maximized the inherent properties and appearances of the materials used to create his quiet, somber sculptural works. His designs frequently took on geometric or biomorphic shapes that referenced his fundamental interest in the human body and facial expressions that were windows to deep personal emotions. He was committed to portrayals related to the African American experience and creative techniques that emphasized his keen understanding of the relationships between balance, light, harmony, and space.”

From, University of Delaware Daily Archive, Martin Mbugua, 2005

REF:  Seventeen Black Artists, Elton C. Fax, 1971, pp. 203-218.

Earl J Hooks, Delilah Pierce(l) and Virginia Cateaux In the December 26, 1957 issue of Jet Magazine Delilah W. Pierce helped promote Earl Hooks’ and James A. Porter’s painting and ceramic exhibit at Howard University.