Michael B. Platt
BORN 1948 • DIED 2019, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Available Works
About the Artist
Michael B. Platt (1948–2019) was a pioneering American artist and educator, renowned for his evocative printmaking and photography that wove narratives of struggle, resilience, and Black identity. Born in Washington, D.C., at Freedman's Hospital and nurtured in its public schools, Platt discovered his artistic calling at age seven. He honed his craft at the Columbus College of Art and Design (BFA, 1970) and Howard University (MFA, 1973), where he later revolutionized curricula by introducing digital photography and non-toxic printmaking.
A lifelong D.C. resident, Platt taught for over 30 years at Northern Virginia Community College and a decade at Howard, mentoring generations of artists with empathy and rigor. His works—layered with abstraction, shadow, and incisive lines—depict marginalized figures in liminal spaces: abandoned fountains, crumbling rooms, evoking supernatural rebirth. As critic Donald Kuspit noted, Platt's art ingeniously fused figuration and abstraction, demanding "deep gazing" to unveil multifaceted textures.
Exhibiting globally—from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Yale University Art Gallery to venues in Australia, Ukraine, and France—Platt earned accolades including the 1999 D.C. Mayor's Art Award and the 2008 Dorothy Frost Award for Digital Printmaking. Collaborations with poet-wife Carol A. Beane, like *Ritual + Time Travel = Rebirth* (2015), blended image and verse in profound synergy.
Platt's sudden death from a heart attack on January 20, 2019, mid-installation at American University's Katzen Arts Center, marked a poignant coda to a career illuminating humanity's quiet victories. His legacy endures in collections worldwide, inspiring survivors to reclaim discarded narratives.