ROY FERDINAND, JR. (b. 1959, New Orleans, LA; d. 2004)
Roy Ferdinand, Jr. was a self-taught African-American artist who called his work "urban realism.” Drawn on matte and poster board, his compositions constitute sophisticated realist portraits of life in New Orleans’ impoverished black neighborhoods. He lived what he depicted, struggling to escape the culture of violence and drugs portrayed in his paintings, but succumbed to cancer after a long battle in December of 2004.