“Art in all its mirrored ways informs us of the beauty in the world, a world where justice reigns supreme and helps us move to a colorless humanity.”

These are the words of renowned artist, collector and art historian David C. Driskell — one of the leading authorities on the subject of African-American art — whose artwork is on view at the Portland Museum of Art. through Jan. 17.

“Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking by David C. Driskell” features for the first time about 80 lithographs, woodcuts, serigraphs, collagraphs, etchings and linocuts created by the artist between 1952 and 2007.

Driskell’s themes, according to the PMA, are diverse: biblical stories, self-portraiture and still life in both figurative and abstract modes. And his prints are inspired by family activities, cultural rituals, homelike interiors, the Maine landscape and his collection of African art.

Driskell incorporates the mystery and beauty of African masks in many of his works. “Masks are used in ceremonies in Africa. They are considered the seat of wisdom,” he said in a recent interview.

“To make a work of art is challenging,” said Driskell, who also does painting, collage, photography and sculpture. “Artists process things differently. Artists see things that laypeople do not see. I do not try to recreate nature as it is, but create my own vision of what I see.”

“Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking” is displayed beautifully on walls purposely painted forest green, deep cobalt blue and soft yellow to bring out the beauty of Driskell’s works.

The range of mediums and growth of style in Driskell’s work over a 50-year period is awe-inspiring.

One of my favorite pieces in the exhibit is “Festival Thelma,” a woodcut of the artist’s wife, created in 1966. Its geometric design in black and white is harmonious in its asymmetrical composition and stark clean forms.

Another beautiful work, “Jonah in the Whale,” created in 1967, is a linocut and collagraph in olive green, beige and brown with a single orange sun. While a somber piece, it also has a subtle dash of humor.

One of the most outstanding works in the exhibit, “Spirits Watching,” a hand-colored offset lithograph done in 1986, is a perfect example of how Driskell uses African masks in his artwork. It features overlapping images that look like semiabstract masks. Some seem to have two sides on one face, depending on the shapes and colors. Half of a masked face appears to be happy; the other, sad.

Another significant work is “Bakota Girl I,” a woodcut created in 1974 in deep yellow, olive green, brown and coral colors. Its stark overlapping geometric design featuring a semiabstract head suggests a mask with many sides.

Examples of Driskell’s self-portraits also play a vital role in the exhibit, according to the PMA. “Spanning more than 30 years, these works reflect the artist’s wide range of stylistic approaches, from the traditional pose and naturalistic representation of ‘Self Portrait’ (1970) to ‘Pensive’ (2004), in which Driskell transforms his own features into those of an African mask.”

Driskell, who lives in Falmouth and in Hyattsville, Md., believes it’s important to have the exhibit in Maine, because he has spent summers here for some 48 years. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting in 1953, and purchased a summer home in 1961. He has served on boards and taught at the Skowhegan school, Bowdoin and Bates colleges and the Haystack School; he has also been a trustee at the Maine College of Art.

Born in Eatonton, Ga., in 1931, Driskell struggled through the Depression and rose from humble means to become an artist, scholar and educator. His book “Two Centuries of Black American Art” is in major libraries across the nation and is used as a textbook. He wrote the lead essay in “Harlem Renaissance, Art of Black America,” an exhibit that toured the United States, with a viewing at Bowdoin College in 1989. He wrote “African American Visual Aesthetics, A Post Modern View” in 1995 and “The Other Side of Color,” about the African-American Art collection of Bill and Camille Cosby, in 2001.

A charismatic guest speaker who lectures on African-American art internationally, he has received many honors. One of the highest of those honors, Driskell said, is the Presidential Medal in the Humanities given to him by President Clinton in 2000.
In presenting the medal, Clinton said, “We are grateful to David Driskell for opening our eyes to the beauty of African-American art as an important aspect of American art.”

 Accompanying “Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking,” organized by the David C. Driskell Center and suggested by Dr. Adrienne Childs, is a hardcover book with outstanding colored plates and well-written text, including an extensive Driskell chronology written by Julia McGee.

Other experts contributing chapters, besides Childs, are Ruth Fine, Deborah Willis and Dr. Robert E. Steele, director of the Driskell center. I mention this book because of its outstanding quality and its status as a major contribution to African-American art scholarship.

The PMA at Seven Congress Square is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students with ID, $4 for youths ages 6-17 and free for children under 6. Admission is free from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday.

Pat Davidson Reef has a master’s degree in education and has taught art history at Catherine McAuley High School in Portland. She has written two children’s books, “Dahlov Ipcar, Artist,” and “Bernard Langlais, Sculptor.”