Lloyd Toone Bio
Lloyd Toone is pleased to present works from over 6 decades of retrospective works.
Lloyd Toone, born 1940 is originally from Chase City, Va.
Toone works in a figurative and abstract style that comes out of the tradition of the Abstract Expressionist and the symbolic image style of Black Africa. Throughout decades of varying art trends, Lloyd Toone has stayed true to his signature style of thickly textured works with the exception of his earlier style in of collage and works on paper.
Toone has long believed his approach provides the most authentic means of conveying his personal narrative, paralleling the artistic expression of his work to ethnic groups that use found objects to make art of anything.
His collective works include paintings, sculpture, and collages that range in date from 1969 to his most recent from 2025. Featured in his more recent exhibitions body of work from the 1960’s that is distinguished by the artist’s approach of building up textured surfaces with fabrics and using leather shoe soles applied to wooden armatures, colorful cables in contemporary wall sculptures and other materials. These works, predominantly composed of colorful electric cables, evoke a string individually that reflects back to his earliest less figurative contemporary works from the 70’s. Many of his artwork styles have recently been displayed in Harlem Fine Arts Show 2021, “Acts of Art, Where we are Now” at Dorsey’s Gallery of Fine Art in Brooklyn, NY, Greenville County Museum of Art in South Carolina. Danny Simmons Gallery in Pa, Penn. “And Still I Rise” exhibit at Renald’s House Museum, in Winston Salem, NC, the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the Martha Wren Briggs Center for Visual Arts in Williamsburg, Va, and “ Acts of Art Exhibit, Greenwich Village”.
In recent years, Toone’s work has continued to receive significant recognition. He has received several private commissions in sculpture and paintings. He displays privately from his Harlem Parlor Gallery.
In 2012, Toone and his work was featured Highlights for Children Magazine, Absolute Artist .
Currently, his work is included in Acts of Art and Rebuttal in Greenwich Village, a notable group exhibition at the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Gallery at Hunter College, New York, on view through March 2025.
And Acts of Art Where we are Now at Dorsey’s Gallery of Fine Art in Brooklyn, NY, through To end of March and the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the Martha Wren Briggs Center for Visual Arts in Williamsburg, Va opening on February 8th and runs through mid-June 2025.
The Acts of Art Exhibition Greenwich Village is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue with a biographical info include.
On sale Now at the Gallery or online.
See New York Times review by Holland Cotter, 2/14/2025
LLOYD TOONE, Fine Artist Bibliography
Contact: ltoone1@bellsouth.net
Phone: 864-978-1851
Studied at:
Bachelor of Science in Art Education - Hampton University, Hampton , VA
Permanent N.Y. State Certification in Art, City College, N.Y.
Master of Science Special Education, Manhattan College, Bronx, N.Y.
Employer:
1967-1995 Children’s Village of Dobbs Ferry, NY. _ Director of Art Department 1965_1966 Saint Christopher’s School, Dobbs Ferry, NY- Special Education Teacher
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS:
Muscarelle Museum of Art at the Martha Wren Briggs Center for Visual Arts in Williamsburg, Va
Hampton University Museum
Museum C.W. Post College
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
New Hampshire College
Bronx Museum
Greenville County Museum
Phillip Morris Corporation
Diggs Museum Gallery
Renalda House Museum
Milliken Art Gallery
Absolut Expressions Collections
Flinn Gallery Greenwich, Conn.
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS:
New Hampshire College
Hampton University Museum
Phillip Morris Corporation
Renalda House Museum
Absolut Expressions Collections
Museum C.W. Post College
Awards: C.W. Post College Purchase Award
Hampton University Sculpture Award
Spartanburg Artist Guild Sculpture Award
Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce, Minority Business of the Year
Penn Center Artist of the Year, St. Helena, SC 2003
One-Man Exhibition:
2016-2025 Toone Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2015 Heath Gallery , New York, N.Y.
2014 Toone Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2010 Flynn Gallery , Greenwich,CT
2008 Milliken Gallery, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC
2003 -2008 Indasa Fine Art Gallery, New York, N.Y.
2003` Cannon Elementary School, Spartanburg, SC
2003 Red Piano Gallery, St. Helena Island, SC
2003 Penn Center Museum , St. Helena Island, SC
1999 -2001 Parlor Gallery, NY
1996 Aaron Davis Hall, City College, NY
1992 Greenville County Museum of Fine Arts, Greenville, SC
1986 Spiral Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
1984-1985 Parlor Gallery, New York, NY
1975 Century Gallery, Williamsburg, VA
1974 & 1972 Acts of Art Gallery, NY
Select Group Exhibitions:
2025 Muscarelle Museum of Art at the Martha Wren Briggs Center for Visual Arts in Williamsburg, Va
2025. Acts of Art “Where we At Now”, Dorset’s Fine Art Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2024 -2025 Acts of Art in Greenwich Village, Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Gallery Hunter College Art Galleries, New York,
2018 Blue Leaf International Arts, Harlem Fine Arts,Show, new York, N.Y.
2011 Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, Conn.
2004 Spartanburg Museum , Spartanburg SC
2002 Absolut Expressions
2001 Diggs Gallery Museum, Winston Salem, NC
1998 - 2001 National Black Fine Arts Show, Arterior Motives Gallery, NY
1998 -1999 Art at the Atrium, Morristown, NY
1999 Grace Baptist Church Gallery, Mt. Vernon, NY
1998 Mosadi’s Collection, Denver, Colorado
1998 Madam C.J. Walker Show House, Irvington, NY
1998 Art on Main Street Gallery, Yonkers, NY
1997 Hampton University Museum, VA
1996 Penn Center, St. Helena Island, SC
1993 “State of the Arts”, New England Fine Arts Institute, Boston, MA
1990 NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Auction, Christie’s, NY
1988 “Who’s Uptown Harlem '87",
Shomburg Center For Research in Black Culture, NY
1987 “Varied Media”, Spiral Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
1986 The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY
1984 Nassau County Black History Museum, Hempstead, NY
1982 “Competitive Art Exhibition ‘82’”, Kingston, NY
1982 “Contemporary Black Artist”, Westchester County Court House,
White Plains, NY
1981 “Sculpture :81’”, Lever House, NY
1978 Carrefour-Mehu Gallery, York, NY
1972 Dutchess Community College, Dutchess County, NY
1971 “Show of Contemporary Afro-American Artist”,
Great Neck Library, Great Neck, NY
1971 Riverview Annual #5, Riverview Galleries, NY
1971 “Rebuttal to the Whitney”, NY
1971 Acts of Art Gallery, NY
1971 International House, NY
1970 “Afro-American Artist New York & Boston”, Musuem of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
1969 “Afro-American Artist 1800-1969”, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
1969 Rohde island School of Design, Providence, RI
1969 C.W. Post College, Brooksville, NY.
1969 Firehouse Gallery, Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY
69-70 “Fifty Contemporary Black Artist” Traveling Exhibition, Ruder and Finn Fine Arts, NY
Sources:
2008 “ Harlem Torch Magazine”, June 2008
2004 “ Essence Magazine”
2002 “Savoy Magazine”, February Issue
1999 “The International Review of African American Art”, Hampton University.
1998 “Denver Design Resources”, Integrity Publications
1996 “African American Art, the Long Struggle”, Crystall Britton, Smithmark Pub.
1993 “Jumping the Broom”, by Harriette Cole, Holt Pub.
1988 “Who’s Uptown: Harlem”87, Shomberg Museum, cat.
1987 “Amsterdam News”, Arts and Entertainment, Oct. 10th,
1986 “Essence Magazine”, October,
1984 “Japanese Playboy Magazine”,
1981 “Sculpture 81”, Lever House, cat.,
1978 “The Complete Annotated Resource Guide to Black Art”
1973 “The Afro-American Artists, A Biographical Directory”
1972 “New York Times ”, Sunday, April 23
1972 “New York Magazine ”, April 17
1972 “Art Gallery Magazine ”, April
1972 “Art Gallery Magazine”, April
1971 “Rebuttal to the Whitney Museum Exhibition”, Coalition of Black Artist, cat.
1970 “Afro-American Artist: New York & Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,MA,.
1969 “Afro-American Artist 1800--1969”, Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts, PE,
1969 “Fifty Contemporary Black Artists”, Ruder & Finn Fine Arts,NY, cat.
