Wadsworth Jarrell (b. 1929, Albany, GA) is a painter, photographer, and founding member of AfriCOBRA, the groundbreaking Chicago-based collective of Black artists who developed a distinct visual aesthetic to empower Black communities. Along with his wife, Jae Jarrell, and other founding members, Jarrell helped establish one of the most influential visual languages in 20th-century American art. Their signature AfriCOBRA style characterized by vibrant “Cool-Aid” colors, bold text, and affirming imagery of Black life, emerged from the cultural energy of Chicago’s South Side and has since influenced generations of artists, including Kerry James Marshall and Kehinde Wiley. Jarrell’s own pattern-intensive portraits, often incorporating Black Power slogans, reflect his deep commitment to political activism and Transnational Black Aesthetics.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Jarrell documented Chicago’s thriving musical and cultural scene and contributed to the landmark Wall of Respect mural as a member of the Organization of Black American Culture. His work continues to explore past and present dimensions of Blackness, celebrating the struggles, strengths, and beauty of African American life while pushing the boundaries of socially engaged abstraction.