A Chicago native and original member of AFRICOBRA, Sherman Beck has spent five decades building luminous, kaleidoscopic paintings that center on Black family, ancestry, and everyday ritual. His geometric fields and radiant palettes, often framing portraits of historic figures such as Shirley Chisholm and Fannie Lou Hamer, reflect AFRICOBRA’s call for images that affirm Black life while embracing mysticism and metaphysics. Beck studied at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He later taught commercial art for twenty-two years at Dunbar High School, mentoring generations of South Side artists.

Early exhibitions include AFRICOBRA I (1970) and AFRICOBRA II (1971) at The Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2008, the African American Cultural Center at the University of Illinois, Chicago held, Sherman Beck: Realms & Abstractions.

Collectors value Beck for the clarity of his draftsmanship, the narrative warmth of his “Ancestors” portraits, and the sustained relevance of an artist who helped shape Chicago’s Black Arts Movement.