Letitia Huckaby in

Diaries of Home

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
November 17, 2024 – February 2, 2025

Renowned photographer Letitia Huckaby debuts her latest portrait series, A Living Requiem in the special exhibition Diaries of Home at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. This heartfelt exhibition features works by women and nonbinary artists who explore the multilayered concepts of complex family dynamics, psychological interiority, community, and the inconsequential and profound moments of daily routine. Huckaby’s series of fifteen sentimental portraits reflect a continuation of the artist’s homage to enslaved ancestors and their descendants. The black and white photographs honor Charley and Kate Thorp, a formerly enslaved couple who played a crucial role at Texas Christian University from its founding in 1873. Huckaby was commissioned by the university to create photos as apart of their Portrait Project, which tells TCU’s story through diverse portraiture that commemorates historically marginalized and underrepresented members of the university’s community. Being that there are no known photos of the couple, Huckaby continued her interest in the legacy of enslaved people and photographed living descendants of Charley and Kate Thorp.

Although a traditional requiem is a musical composition offered for the repose of souls, this visual composition celebrates the descendants, past and present, of Charley and Kate Thorp. A formally enslaved couple who contributed greatly to the establishment of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. Consisting of fifteen oversized silhouette portraits, A Living Requiem is an anthem. A rousing and uplifting song or hymn of praise and gladness dedicated to the resilience and lineage of the Thorp family.

– Letitia Huckaby, 2024

​Letitia Huckaby has a degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston in photography and her Master’s degree from the University of North Texas in Denton. Huckaby has exhibited as an emerging artist at Phillips New York, the Tyler Museum of Art, The Studio School of Harlem, the Camden Palace Hotel in Cork City, Ireland, and the Texas Biennial at Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum. Her work is included in several prestigious collections; the Library of Congress, the McNay Art Museum, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, and the Samella Lewis Contemporary Art Collection at Scripps College in Claremont, California. Huckaby was a featured artist in MAP2020: The Further We Roll, The More We Gain at the Amon Carter Museum and State of the Art 2020 at The Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum, both opened in the spring of 2020. Huckaby was also a Fall 2020 Artist in Residence at ArtPace.