Larry Francis Lebby (September 8, 1950 – July 21, 2019) was a native South Carolinian. He was a nationally known painter, printmaker and artist working in Columbia, South Carolina.
Early life and education Lebby was one of the Black students to integrate Airport High School. He attended Allen University and transferred to the University of South Carolina, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in 1976. Lebby spoke about the role of University of South Carolina President Thomas F. Jones in his successful transfer.
Artistic career Lebby served on the board of the South Carolina Arts Commission (affiliated with the National Endowment for the Arts) and on the Governor's Task Force for the Arts.
Official portraits Lebby was known for his portraiture: a number of his state and other commissioned portraits of famous legislators, judges, educators and activists hang in the South Carolina State House and other public spaces:
Benjamin Mayes (1981) Richard Theodore Greener (1984) Modjeska Monteith Simkins (1995) Samuel Jones Lee and Robert B. Elliott (1998) Jonathan Jasper Wright (1998)"ARTIST RESCUES LAWYER FROM PAGES OF HISTORY\ LARRY LEBBY HOPES HIS PORTRAIT CAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF JONATHAN JASPER WRIGHT". Greensboro News and Record. February 27, 1998. Retrieved February 28, 2024."Honorable Jonathan Jasper Wright". University of South Carolina Law School. 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024. Matthew J. Perry, Judge, US District Court (2014) Clementa C. Pinckney, South Carolina Senator (2016) Ernest A. Finney Jr., South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice (2018) Jimmy Carter, US President
Lebby was commissioned to create the portrait of Senator Pinckney after the murder of Pinckney and eight others in the Charleston church shooting in 2015. The portrait was unveiled in May 2016, and hangs in the South Carolina Senate chambers. Speakers at the unveiling included State Senators Gerald Malloy, Hugh Leatherman, and John W. Matthews Jr.; State Representative Joseph Neal; the widow, Mrs. Jennifer Pinckney, and the artist Larry Lebby himself.
Death Lebby died in 2019.
Awards and legacy In 1987, the South Carolina Legislature noted the 'local, national and international' recognition' that Lebby's work had received with a Concurrent Resolution.
In 2024, Lebby was included in the 2024 South Carolina African American History Calendar.
In September 2024, Lebby was posthumously inducted into the Lexington School District Two Inaugural Fine Arts Hall of Fame.
Gallery
References
External links Senator Pinckney Portrait Unveiling at the South Carolina State House - South Carolina Educational Television, May 26, 2016 Larry Francis Lebby Oral History interview - University of South Carolina, June 8, 2016 Image: Larry Francis Lebby in obituary