DR. THOMAS E. LOCKHART III RELEASES PAINTING IN THE SPIRIT AT HOMEWOOD BOOK SIGNING

Photo top left - Taroue Brooks, crafted the forward for Thomas Lockhart's coffee table book Painting In the Spirit, Verlena Mooney Newell, Actor Leon, Pigment International's Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Tenia Davis, owner of Beyond the Book in Homewood, and artist Thomas Lockhart, whose work is showcased in the coffee table book. Top right - Lockhart's original work "The Past Illuminates the Future" created for the Pigmented Black Fine Art Show.

Over a career spanning 25 years, Dr. Thomas E. Lockhart III has built a body of work that collectors describe as emotional architecture—a marriage of color, texture, cloth, and gold leaf that transforms a room into something sacred. Now, that body of work has found a permanent home between covers.

Dr. Lockhart recently participated in a signing for his new coffee table book “Painting in the Spirit” alongside arts entrepreneur and cultural connector Taroue Brooks who crafted the forward to the publication.  The event was  moderated by actor Leon. Held at Beyond the Book in suburban Chicago, the occasion celebrated the release of the  luxury publication spotlighting Lockhart’s mixed-media practice and his singular place within the expanding canon of Black fine art.

In conversation, Dr. Lockhart and Brooks addressed what this cultural moment means for Black artists. “This is a remarkable moment for African and African American artists,” Lockhart said. “Our stories, aesthetics, and innovations are finally being acknowledged on a global scale.” He was clear that the book is not simply a retrospective—it is a declaration of legacy, an argument that Black fine art belongs not only in private collections but in museums and cultural memory for generations to come.

Brooks, who has championed Lockhart’s work to collectors across the country, called his pieces “investment-worthy” not merely as financial assets but as cultural compasses capable of anchoring families to their history. Lockhart’s specially created work “The Past Illuminates the Present” was the centerpiece of the Pigmented Black Fine Art Fair held during Black Fine Art Month last October.  

Collectors interested in Dr. Lockhart’s work may visit his gallery @t_lockhartgallery on Instagram.