Kindred Spirits
Lilian Thomas Burwell recounts the life story of her aunt, unsung artist and educator Hilda Wilkinson Brown, and the influence she had on Burwell’s own career as an abstract expressionist artist. Their lives, works of art and sources of inspiration are presented against the backdrop of a segregated society where marginalized Black artists created their own venues to exhibit their work.
Episodes
-
Kindred Spirits
26m 14s
Lilian Thomas Burwell recounts the life story of her aunt, unsung artist and educator Hilda Wilkinson Brown, and the influence she had on Burwell’s own career as an abstract expressionist artist. Their lives, works of art and sources of inspiration are presented against the backdrop of a segregated society where marginalized Black artists created their own venues to exhibit their work.
Extras + Features
-
Summers at Oak Bluffs
1m
During the summer months, Hilda Wilkinson Brown traveled to Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard, one of the few beach destinations where African Americans could vacation during segregation. Her paintings were inspired by the landscape and the beachgoers.
-
Trailer
30s
Lilian Thomas Burwell recounts the life story of her aunt, unsung artist and educator Hilda Wilkinson Brown, and the influence she had on Burwell’s own career as an abstract expressionist artist. Their lives, works of art and sources of inspiration are presented against the backdrop of a segregated society where marginalized Black artists created their own venues to exhibit their work.
-
Painting as Sculpture
57s
Lilian Thomas Burwell creates her "sculptural paintings" by carving out wooden shapes and covering them with painted canvas. Some of her pieces also include thermally curved acrylic.
-
Extended Trailer
2m 45s
Artist Hilda Wilkinson Brown did not live to see the acquisition of several of her paintings by major museums. Her niece, nonagenarian Lilian Thomas Burwell, is experiencing a wave of recognition for her own "sculptural paintings." The story of these two Black women’s interconnected lives, their artwork and sources of inspiration are presented against the backdrop of a segregated Washington, D.C.
Schedule
-
Image
Kindred Spirits: Artists Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lilian Thomas Burwell
Sunday
Feb 19
30 Minutes
The relationship between a Black aunt and niece who became accomplished artists and educators despite the Great Depression and racial segregation. -
Image
Kindred Spirits: Artists Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lilian Thomas Burwell
Monday
Feb 20
30 Minutes
The relationship between a Black aunt and niece who became accomplished artists and educators despite the Great Depression and racial segregation. -
Image
Kindred Spirits: Artists Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lilian Thomas Burwell
Monday
Feb 20
30 Minutes
The relationship between a Black aunt and niece who became accomplished artists and educators despite the Great Depression and racial segregation.
WETA Passport
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.
Similar Shows

Last of the Breed
Arts and Music

Coldplay: Live in São Paulo
Arts and Music

Emery Blagdon and His Healing Machine
Arts and Music

Celebrate & Sing! Glory to the Newborn King!
Arts and Music

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
Arts and Music

WETA Arts
Arts and Music

PBS Arts
Arts and Music

Meet Carl Jackson
Arts and Music

Making a New American NUTCRACKER
Arts and Music

Detroit Arts
Arts and Music