Minnie Miles Papers

Visual artist, writer, and educator Minnie Marianne Miles was born in Austin, TX, on August 18, 1941. She graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1958, and went on to receive a B.A. from Fisk University in 1963 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University in 1968.

Minnie created art throughout her lifetime, using a variety of mediums including watercolor, ink pen, acrylics, oils, etching, charcoal, pastels. Her art practice was developed under and alongside the influence of artists including Aaron Douglass and John Biggers. Minnie's art has been exhibited at Huston-Tillotson College (1956), Atlanta University (1958), East Texas State University (1970), Tennessee State University (1971), Carver Library in San Antonio, TX (1978), the Artists League of Texas (1989), the Art Galleries at Black Studies (2022), among others.

In addition to her art practice, Minnie wrote poetry, plays, and novels. During her career as an arts educator, she held positions Fisk University, Austin Community College, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Additionally, she worked in administrative leadership at the Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University, and the Beach Institute Cultural Center and the King-Tisdell Cottage in Savannah, GA.

Minnie was dedicated to preserving her family history, and actively collected and shared Brewer and Miles family photographs and records. Throughout the 1990s she led the Brewer Foundation, which was created in an effort to preserve the historic Brewer family home at 1108 Chicon Street in Austin, TX. Minnie served as a caregiver to several family members including her mother Gladys Brewer Miles, sister Merle Miles Adams, cousin Opal Seabrook, and Aunt Stella Brewer Brookes.

Minnie Miles passed away on February 18, 2022, in Austin, TX. The Art Galleries at Black Studies (AGBS) at The University of Texas at Austin has also acquired a collection of her artwork. More information about the AGBS collection can be found here.