Sylvia Snowden (b. 1942) harnesses a vast chromatic spectrum in her expressionistic art, blending dark, earthy tones with vibrant, artificial hues. Her expansive contrapposto figures are surrounded by vibrant waves of color, capturing the emotional rhythms of life. Snowden’s paintings explore the psychological core of her subjects, from fleeting encounters to those with whom she has deep, enduring relationships, exposing their victories, fears, suffering, and rage. Snowden, born in Raleigh, North Carolina, spent her early years in New Orleans, Louisiana. At 14, her family relocated to Washington, D.C., where her parents nurtured her artistic talents, leading her to enroll in Howard University's art department, where she received both her B.A. and M.A and studied under David C. Driskell.. Snowden also earned a scholarship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine, and holds a certificate from La Grande Chaumière in Paris, France. Snowden has taught at Howard University, Cornell University, and Yale University, and she has also served in various roles, including artist-in-residence, panelist, visiting artist, and curator, at numerous universities, galleries, and art schools in the United States and abroad.

Her work has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Women’s Museum, Montclair Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, The Phillips Collection, Heckscher Museum of Art, and the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Museum and National Archives for Black Women’s History.