aBOUT THE ARTIST

Frank Morrison, an Atlanta-based contemporary painter, uses his brush and occasionally, a spray can to amplify Black voices too often overlooked amid the noise of modern life. His dynamic visual language blends the elegance of Neo-Mannerism with the raw edge of street art, pushing the boundaries between figuration and abstraction. Through this fusion he celebrates the rich history, creativity, and resilience of the Black community.

Imagination has always been central to Morrison’s identity. Raised on a military base, he learned to invent new worlds and tell stories through drawing. A move to New Jersey later exposed him to the realities of racism, and art became his refuge a way to reshape his world and insert himself into a visual culture that rarely represented Black lives.

The 1980s Hip Hop movement profoundly shaped his artistic evolution. Graffiti and breakdancing became early modes of expression, and a tour with music artist Sybil while still in high school offered Morrison his first glimpse into the broader world of art and performance. Encouraged by his high school art teacher, Mrs. Moore, he visited the Louvre during that tour, where he was captivated by the technical mastery and storytelling power of the great European painters.

Determined to merge those classical traditions with his lived experience, Morrison began teaching himself the techniques of the Old Masters while drawing inspiration from African American pioneers like the Neo-Mannerists, the Ashcan School, and the Mexican Muralists. These influences, filtered through the lens of Black culture, became the foundation of his uniquely fluid style.

In addition to his career as a fine artist, Morrison is an award-winning children’s book illustrator, known for his ability to balance whimsy with emotional depth. His work has earned him honors such as the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, the NAACP Image Award, and the John Steptoe Award. He has exhibited at prestigious venues including Expo Chicago and Scope Miami, and with notable galleries such as Richard Beavers Gallery and Savacou Gallery.

Morrison’s work stands as both a visual archive and an act of cultural affirmation. Each piece tells a story rooted in memory, shaped by music and motion, and grounded in the everyday brilliance of Black life in America.

Artist Statement

museum acquisitions & RECOGNIZED COLLECTIONs

Mazza Museum

Swizz Beats/The Dean Collection

Arizona State Museum

R.W. Norton Art Gallery

Norman Rockwell Museum

Set Free

exhibition history

Selected Art Shows

Richard Beavers Gallery
Brilliance Behind the Line (2023)
Wond World (2023)

Museum of Contemporary Art (2019)

Urban Restoration (2017)
Urban Mannerism (2015)

Art fairs

EXPO Chicago
2025, 2024, 2023

SCOPE Art Fair
2024, 2023, 2019

LA Art Show
2019

Awards & Honors

    • Starred Reviews (Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly) – When Alexander Graced the Table

    • Bank Street Best of the Year – Breaking to the Beat!, How Do You Spell Unfair?

    • Black Caucus ALA Best of the Best List – How Do You Spell Unfair?, Harlem at Four

    • Jane Addams Peace Association Children’s Book Award – How Do You Spell Unfair?

    • Kirkus Best of 2023 – Breaking to the Beat!, How Do You Spell Unfair?

    • Starred Reviews (Hornbook, Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, SLJ) – Breaking to the Beat!

    • Globe/Hornbook Award Honor – Standing in the Need of Prayer

    • Starred Review (SLJ) – Harlem at Four

    • Bank Street College Best Books – Uncle John’s City Garden, Standing in the Need of Prayer

    • Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award – Standing in the Need of Prayer

    • ALSC Notable Children’s Book – Standing in the Need of Prayer

    • Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book – Uncle John’s City Garden

    • Kirkus Best Picture Books – Standing in the Need of Prayer

    • Chicago Public Library Best Books – Kick Push

    • Society of Illustrators Original Art – Standing in the Need of Prayer, Kick Push

    • American Illustration 41

    • 4 Starred Reviews (Kirkus, SLJ, Hornbook, Booklist) – Standing in the Need of Prayer

    • California Young Reader Medal Nominee – Let the Children March

    • NCTE Orbis Pictus Award – Above the Rim

    • Virginia Reading Makes Cents – The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver

    • TLA Texas Topaz Reading List – Above the Rim

    • 2021 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award – R-E-S-P-E-C-T

    • 2020 Society of Illustrators Original Art, Silver Medal – R-E-S-P-E-C-T

    • 2020 SLJ Best Nonfiction – R-E-S-P-E-C-T

    • Coretta Scott King Honor – Let the Children March

    • Society of Illustrators Original Art, Silver Medal – The Roots of Rap

    • Golden Kite Honor Book – The Roots of Rap

    • NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book – Starstruck

    • NYPL Best Books – The Roots of Rap

    • Chicago Public Library Best of the Best – The Roots of Rap

    • Booklist Top 10 Art Books for Youth – The Roots of Rap

    • Bank Street Best Books – I Got the Christmas Spirit, Let the Children March, Starstruck

    • Georgia Center for the Book – The Roots of Ra

    • NAACP Image Award – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

    • National Book Award Nominee – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

    • Bank Street Best Books – One Last Word, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

    • Chicago Public Library Best of the Best – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, One Last Word

    • NYPL Best Books for Kids – One Last Word

    • Bank Street Best Children’s Books – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

    • CCBC Choices – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

    • CBC Notable Social Studies Book – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

    • Junior Library Guild Selection – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

    • NC Children's Book Award Nominee – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

    • Bold and Fearless – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

    • Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

    • NAACP Image Award Nomination – Little Melba

    • NCTE Orbis Pictus Award – Little Melba

    • CL/R SIG Notable Book – Little Melba

    • Bank Street Best Books – Little Melba, I Got the Rhythm

    • ADL Book of the Month – Little Melba

    • Books All Georgians Should Read – I Got the Rhythm

    • CCBC Choice – Little Melba

    • 2014 CSMCL Best Multicultural Books – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

    • 2012-13 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee – Play, Louis, Play

    • 2010 NAACP Image Award – Our Children Can Soar

selected collaborators

  • Google
    Disney
    Barnes & Noble
    Cole Haan
    Doritos
    ESPN
    Listerine
    Hasbro
    MLB
    NFL
    Blick Art Materials

  • NPR
    Compound
    Blue Sky Studios
    National Urban League
    Jordan Peele / Universal Pictures
    The Robb Report

  • Penguin Books
    HarperCollins
    Simon & Schuster Books
    Random House
    Scholastic
    Farrar, Straus and Giroux
    Dial
    Bloomsbury USA Children’s
    Zonderkidz
    Hyperion
    Lee & Low Books
    Tricycle Press
    Chronicle Books

  • Clubhouse Jr
    National Geographic Kids