Couple has quietly spent decades amassing marvelous collection of Detroit art

Detroit’s rich and vibrant visual arts scene owes a lot to those who collect and preserve local works, and one couple has taken that mission a step further, nurturing young talent even as they honor past greats.

David and Linda Whitaker are among Detroit’s most widely known and respected names in the local art-collecting community. The couple of 38 years has quietly spent decades amassing a marvelous collection of mostly African American art, from mostly Detroit artists, and will be honored with the Friends of African and African American Art’s Alain Locke Recognition Award on Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).

“They’re lovely people,” said Valerie Mercer, DIA curator of African American art. “They have quite a collection, and they teach other people how to get started in collecting. That help is golden, because sometimes people don’t know how to get started and where to go to see African American art, or good art in general. They open their home to so many people to see their collection, and that’s just great because that’s how we learn.

“I have a lengthy art education history, but I never learned about African American art when I studied art history. Classes (on that topic) are not really given in a lot of our academic institutions, so people have to teach each other about this, at least for now. And that’s why I’m so glad we have Linda and David in our community. It’s so important that we help each other, and they are generous with that.”

The Whitakers began building their collection about 20 years ago, when Linda’s uncle, artist Lawrence Johnson, died and Linda snagged one of his paintings before the family gave them all away. She stashed the painting in her garage and returned to the couple's focus at the time, collecting antique furniture.

“Finally, one of the antique dealers said, ‘OK, you’ve got enough furniture, you need to put some stuff on the walls,” said Linda Whitaker. “I didn’t want to put nails and holes in my walls, but we hung up my uncle’s piece, and Dave and I just couldn’t stop looking. It wasn’t something society said was valuable, but we loved it because it was my uncle’s. And my husband said, ‘Well, I guess we do need something on the walls.’

“You’re always afraid to start dealing with the unknown, like collecting art or anything else, because you don’t really think you know what you’re doing. But if you buy stuff that you feel comfortable with, it’s easy. My husband said, ‘Linda, look at the house like a blank canvas, and create.' ”

The Whitakers are both lifelong Detroiters. David serves as director of Detroit City Council’s legislative policy division. Linda, who worked as an educator and principal in the Detroit Public Schools system for 39 years, made it a point to bring arts programs into each school where she was stationed, eventually winning awards for her transformative efforts.

“At every school, the test scores went up,” she said. “The writing scores went up, too. You might say, ‘Why is that?’ Because during the art programs, you’re learning how to use descriptive language. You’re talking about the author’s purpose, the artist’s purpose. When you have to start thinking about things, you become good at communicating.”

The Whitakers’ collection is about 90% comprised of African American artists, with many Detroit legends and rising stars appearing at least once. Charles McGee, Gilda Snowden, Shirley Woodson, James Charles Morris and Jonathan Harris are just a few of the artists whose works hang salon-style in their home.

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The Whitakers are long-standing members of the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, which meets each Monday morning at Marygrove College and connects local artists with peers and collectors, which, in turn, enables collectors to continue investing in Detroit’s art community.

“I would like to say that people should not be afraid to collect artwork,” Linda Whitaker said. “We all collect something. And the artists are very friendly, and they will work with you because they’re excited to have you want their work — whether they’re senior artists, or somebody who’s a novice. Approach the artists. Go to galleries — because the galleries help in bringing the masses to see the artists’ works. Ask if they have something you can afford — most artists have something you can afford, if you just ask them. And they’ll work with you to make sure that you can get the work. That’s my advice to new collectors."

“And” she added, “don’t try to match your artwork with your furniture. Because you’re not going to keep the same furniture … then what do you do? Don’t worry about where you put it, how it’s going to look, because what you’re doing is sharing a part of others. I would like for people to continue to support young artists. Make sure you participate with fundraisers, organizations, nonprofits to help young people in the arts.”

Her reason couldn’t be simpler.

“Detroit’s children belong to us all.”

At the DIA ceremony Sunday, the Friends of African and African American Art will also present the Alain Locke International Award to globally renowned sculptor Nari Ward, who currently serves as professor and head of studio art at Hunter College in New York. A reception will follow the awards ceremony, which will be held at 2 p.m. in the DIA’s lecture hall, 5200 Woodward Ave. in Detroit. The event is free to attend with RSVP at dia.org/events/31st-annual-alain-locke-awards.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: David, Linda Whitaker have huge Detroit art collection in their home